Multifaceted interactions between immunity and the diseased brain

Neuroimmune interactions are closely entangled with different aspects of brain physiology and disease. Circulating immune cells in the blood or residing in the meninges and choroid plexus, as well as those resident to the central nervous system actively participate in tissue surveillance and regulate neural function and behavior. Many interactions between the central nervous system and immune cells take place in the vicinity of the neurovascular unit, are modulated by the cellular components of the blood-brain barrier and are dependent on the functional status of the brain-draining meningeal lymphatic system. Additionally, microglia, the brain-resident innate immune cells, as well as other glial cell populations, play a central role not only in supporting neuronal function but also in the response to pathogenic insults, including trauma, infection, accumulation of misfolded proteins, and neurodegeneration. Fine-tuning the different components of the brain-immune axis might prove to be beneficial in different neurological disorders.
In this Research Topic, we will welcome original research, review, or short opinions that focus on the state-of-the-art of neuroimmune interactions in health and disease and aim at advancing the current knowledge of the role of the immune system, neurovasculature, meningeal lymphatics, and brain-resident glial cells in the maintenance of brain function or in the context of brain inflammation, infection, trauma, aging, and degeneration.
This Research Topic is open to submission of short opinions, review or original articles addressing the following themes:
- Immunity at the brain borders in health and disease
- Neuroimmune interactions in autoimmunity and neuroinflammation
- Cerebrovascular role in aging and neurodegenerative diseases
- Immunology of neuroinfectious diseases
- Functional role of glial cells in neuroinflammation, aging and neurodegeneration
- Central nervous system lymphatic vasculature and drainage