Presenting Author: Aurora Kraus
, Post-doc at NICHD, NIH
Abstract:
The CNS parenchyma is generally cloistered from peripheral immune cells, but the surrounding meninges contain abundant patrolling lymphocytes. During inflammation, such as traumatic brain injury or multiple sclerosis, lymphocytes aggregate in the meninges of mammals and can have long term deleterious effects. In peripheral tissues lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) are T cell regulators, communicating bidirectionally with T cells to suppress autoreactivity. LECs also interact with T cells in the meninges in mammalian autoimmune disease models, but their role in maintaining T cell homeostasis in this context remains unclear. We are establishing a zebrafish model to study how LECs influence T cell identity and migration in the meninges in the context of traumatic brain injury and neuroinflammation.We have shown that the meninges, meningeal blood and lymphatic vessels, and meningeal immune cell populations can all be imaged live, in real time, through the thin transparent skull of the adult zebrafish using available cell-type specific transgenic fish lines. T cells can be observed interacting with LECs, and angiography shows meningeal lymphatic connections to the kidney marrow. Our ongoing studies are examining the role of LECs in meningeal T cell trafficking and phenotypes after cerebrovascular injury. Discovering meningeal T cell-lymphatic interactions in zebrafish may provide insights spurring new approaches for treating chronic neuroinflammatory disease in humans.
Visualizing traumatic brain injury in the adult zebrafish.
Category
Poster and Podium (Block Symposium)
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Date: May 6 Presentation Time: 02:15 PM to 03:30 PM Room: Exhibit Hall F1