meninges tagged posts

The brain is uniquely protected against invading bacteria and viruses, but its defence mechanism has long remained a mystery. Now, a study in mice, confirmed in human samples, has shown that the brain has a surprising ally in its protection: the gut.

The brain is arguably the most important organ in the body, as it controls most other body systems and enables reasoning, intelligence, and emotion. Humans have evolved a variety of protective measures to prevent physical damage to the brain: it sits in a solid, bony case — the skull — and is wrapped in three layers of watertight tissue known as the meninges.

What has...

Characterization of B cells in spleen and CNS of mice lacking functional Ly6G+ MDSCs during recovery from EAE.

B cells are important in helping the immune system fight pathogens. However, in the case of the neurological autoimmune disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS) they can damage nerve tissue. When particular control cells are missing, too many B cells accumulate in the meninges, resulting in inflammation of the central nervous system. A team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) demonstrated the process using animal and patient samples.

The fight against illnesses and pathogens requires activation or deactivation of a large number of different cell types in our immune system at the right place and the right time...

Immune cells (green) assemble in the outer coverings of a mouse’s brain, called the meninges, protecting it from a stroke’s full force. Gut bacteria modified the immune’ cells behavior to elicit that protective response. Credit: Corinne Benakis

New research from Weill Cornell Medicine can help mitigate stroke – the second leading cause of death worldwide. In the study mice received a combination of antibiotics. 2 weeks later, ischemic stroke was induced in them. Mice treated with antibiotics experienced a stroke that was about 60% smaller than rodents that did not receive the medication. The microbial environment in the gut directed the immune cells there to protect the brain from the stroke’s full force.

Modifying the microbiotic makeup of the gut can become an innovative method to preven...