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Neuroimmunology

Macrophages bordering the brain parenchyma regulate the flow of cerebrospinal fluid

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 23, page 3 (2023)Cite this article

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Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) continually circulates throughout the brain parenchyma, and this process is vital for the transfer of nutrients and signalling molecules (including antigens and cytokines) to brain cells and also for clearing waste products from the brain. A recent study from the laboratory of Jonathan Kipnis has found that specialized macrophages that reside near the parenchyma of the central nervous system (CNS) can impact CNS health by regulating CSF flow dynamics.

The authors used intra-cisterna magna (i.c.m.) injection of liposomes containing clodronate to deplete PBMs and then delivered a fluorescent ovalbumin (OVA) tracer via the i.c.m. route to assess the impact of PBM depletion on CSF flow dynamics. Of note, OVA coverage in coronal sections of the brain was markedly reduced, pointing to impairment of CSF influx. Similar findings were made following i.c.m. delivery of smaller, more diffusive tracers to PBM-depleted mice. Moreover, these tracers showed increased accumulation in the brain parenchyma of PBM-depleted mice after intra-striatal injection, suggesting that both influx and efflux of CSF is impaired following PBM depletion.

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  1. Nature Reviews Immunology http://www.nature.com/nri/

    Yvonne Bordon

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  1. Yvonne Bordon
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Correspondence to Yvonne Bordon.

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Bordon, Y. Macrophages bordering the brain parenchyma regulate the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. Nat Rev Immunol 23, 3 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-022-00814-0

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