Changes in Brain Neuroimmunology Following Injury and Disease

Abstract

nervous and immune systems are intimately related in the brain and in the periphery, where changes to one affect the other and vice-versa. Immune cells are responsible for sculpting and pruning neuronal synapses, and play key roles in neuro-development and neurological disease pathology. The immune composition of the brain is tightly regulated from the periphery through the blood-brain barrier (BBB), whose maintenance is driven to a significant extent by extracellular matrix (ECM) components. After a brain insult, the BBB can become disrupted and the composition of the ECM can change. These changes, and the resulting immune infiltration, can have detrimental effects on neurophysiology and are the hallmarks of several diseases. In this review, we discuss some processes that may occur after insult, and potential consequences to brain neuroimmunology and disease progression. We then highlight future research directions and opportunities for further tool development to probe the neuro-immune interface.

Polina Anikeeva

Matoula S. Salapatas Professor and Head, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Professor, Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Director, K. Lisa Yang Brain-Body Center
Associate Investigator, McGovern Institute for Brain Research
Associate Director, Research Laboratory of Electronics

My goal is to combine the current knowledge of biology and nanoelectronics to develop materials and devices for minimally invasive treatments for neurological and neuromuscular diseases.