Brain Vasculature at the Neuro-Immune Interface

Recent discoveries have implicated a bidirectional relationship between the immune and nervous systems, yet a fundamental gap exists in our understanding of how information is conveyed between these two systems. Anatomically positioned between the blood and neural cells in the brain is the elaborate brain vasculature, which interacts extensively and intimately with brain parenchyma cells.

We seek to understand how brain vasculature, which is directly at the interface of the periphery and the brain, actively mediate dynamic bidirectional neuro-immune communication.

We will answer fundamental questions such as how brain is alerted and responds to periphery inflammation, and how immune cells get into the brain. More broadly, for body-brain communication of all humoral signals from periphery physiology communication to the brain. Brain vasculature is the first line of contact between the brain and the periphery as systemic circulation contains factors released from all organs.

Our work will define a new neuroimmune architecture, and provide an unprecedented set of pathways that define inflammatory signaling across the brain vasculature.

‍