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NEUROIMMUNOLOGY

How the brain regulates its own immune system

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Two recent papers reveal that the brain can regulate its own immune responses by sending molecular cues to immune cells in the skull bone marrow via the cerebrospinal fluid. Furthermore, experimental spinal cord injury or bacterial meningitis specifically activate local vertebral and skull-resident hematopoietic cell injury responses.

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Fig. 1: Cerebrospinal fluid travels along perivascular spaces and infiltrates skull bone marrow cavities.

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Acknowledgements

The work of B.V.Z. is supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant nos. R01AG023084, R01NS090904, R01NS034467, R01AG039452, 1R01NS100459, 5P01AG052350 and P30AG06653), in addition to the Alzheimer’s Association (strategic 509279 grant), and the Foundation Leducq Transatlantic Network of Excellence for the Study of Perivascular Spaces in Small Vessel Disease (reference no. 16 CVD 05).

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  1. Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Kassandra Kisler & Berislav V. Zlokovic

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  1. Kassandra Kisler
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  2. Berislav V. Zlokovic
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Correspondence to Berislav V. Zlokovic.

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Kisler, K., Zlokovic, B.V. How the brain regulates its own immune system. Nat Neurosci 25, 532–534 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-022-01066-w

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