Brain structure assists in immune response, according to Penn...(entry researchers have found it provides...)

Date:1/28/2009

entry, researchers have found it provides unique challenges for the immune system to control local infection. Therefore, little is known about the processes by which T cells access the central nervous system during toxoplasma infection or how the immune system keeps this parasite in check.

In this Penn study, researchers aimed to better understand how the immune system is able to control infection in the brain. Using recent advances in two-photon microscopy that allow the visualization of T-cell populations in the brain, Chris Hunter's lab focused on the visualization of effector CD8+ T cells during toxoplasmic encephalitis.

"We found, quite unexpectedly, that the movement of infiltrating T cells was closely associated with an infection-induced reticular system of fibers in the brain," lead author Emma Wilson said. "These structures were not present in normal brain tissue."

"This observation suggests that in the brain, specialized structures are induced by inflammation that guide migration of T cells in this immune-privileged environment and allow them to perform a search-and-destroy type of mission required to find abnormal cells or microbes with the brain," Hunter, professor and chair of the Department of Pathobiology at Penn Vet, said.

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Contact: Jordan Reese jreese@upenn.edu 215-573-6604 University of Pennsylvania Source:Eurekalert

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