The Emerging Role of Neuro-Immune Synapses and the Immunological Homunculus in the Context of the Systematic Lymphoid Organs Innervation
Evolving concept By Clemens Wülfing, Fenja Amrei Schuran, Inga Hölge, Julia Urban, Jasmin Oehlmann and Hauke Simon Günther Nearly all body tissues are connected to the central nervous system through the axonal terminals of neurons. But with regard to lymphoid organs, this direct innervation, its extent and significance, as well as the role of afferent […]
Acid Sensing By Sensory Neurons in Inflammation
Overview article Chronic inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), are characterized by continuous pain and RA is the most frequent form of inflammatory joint disease in the United Kingdom [1] with an estimated economic cost of ~£8bn/year [2]. Inflammation has several notable symptoms including the four cardinal ones described by Aulus Cornelius Celsus in […]
Hyperactive Type I Interferon System in the Choroid Plexus Linked To Aging and Cognitive Dysfunction
A study published in the August 21, 2014 issue of Science magazine demonstrates that aging is associated with an overactive interferon (IFN)-I system at a specific brain structure, the choroid plexus. This vascular tissue, found in all cerebral ventricles, is an epithelial monolayer that forms the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, and, in fact, represents the ‘interface’ […]
Endogenous Catecholamines in Immune Cells: Discovery, Functions And Clinical Potential as Therapeutic Targets
Overview article The catecholamines dopamine, noradrenaline and adrenaline are well established neurotransmitters and neurohormones. Sympathoadrenergic pathways are pivotal to the communication between the nervous system and the immune system, and the role of dopaminergic pathways in the modulation of immune response is being increasingly unveiled. However, over the last two decades, evidence has accumulated regarding […]
Interferon and the Central Nervous System
Overview article Interferons (IFNs) are glycoproteins known as cytokines. These cytokines got their name by Isaacs and Lindenmann [1] after their ability to interfere with viral growth and production. Isaacs and Lindenmann worked at the Medical Research Council Laboratory in Mill Hill, outside London and were the first to publish a paper on these proteins. […]
