New research shows brain is directly connected to the immune system

https://news.virginia.edu/illimitable/discovery/theyll-have-rewrite-textbooks

by Phithagoras • 10 years ago

199 35 10 years ago

news.virginia.edu

Great example of new techniques driving science. Looks promising for translational research!

dnautics2• 10 years ago

It's worth noting that it's long been known that the brain was connected. Antibodies in the brain have long been known, as has the inflammatory nature of some diseases like Alzheimer's.

What has not been known is the mechanism: the dogma was that the blood brain barrier would prevent immune involvement. With the discovery of this new system, that dogma remains true as explained by this impressive discovery of a special access network for the immune system.

jkldotio• 10 years ago

In the Lancet[0] there is also a persuasive case made for a connection between coeliac (autoimmune) and a host of neurological symptoms. The more these mechanisms are understood the better.

[0] http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/laneur/PIIS1474-4422(...

entee2• 10 years ago

Yeah the brain is a privileged site, a fancy way of saying it's not like places that have ready bloodflow with very little to separate the organ. The blood brain barrier is a real problem in drug development, but it's not that surprising that there is in fact a way around it for the immune system. As the parent mentions, there's been lots of evidence stretching back years that the brain isn't totally isolated from the immune system. This paper (quite amazing and important work btw) just elaborates how that happens. The press release from the university is a little hyperbolic, but this is good and important work.

daveguy2• 10 years ago

I would say this work is incredibly important. Like you said, the blood-brain barrier is a significant obstacle in pharmaceutical research. One thing pharma companies are very good at is producing antibody based drugs and their derivatives. By conjugation of molecules to the antibodies that are accepted through this pathway, essentially hitching a ride in the process, the blood-brain barrier could essentially be eliminated in drug development. Delivery method is one of the most important and difficult aspects of drug development. Characterization of this process is definitely a breakthrough.

tosseraccount• 10 years ago

Nature publication here : http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v523/n7560/full/nature1... : "Structural and functional features of central nervous system lymphatic vessels"

Warning: Paywall. (Your tax dollars at work!)

" In searching for T-cell gateways into and out of the meninges, we discovered functional lymphatic vessels lining the dural sinuses. These structures express all of the molecular hallmarks of lymphatic endothelial cells, are able to carry both fluid and immune cells from the cerebrospinal fluid, and are connected to the deep cervical lymph nodes."

throwaway321423• 10 years ago

https://sci-hub.io/10.1038/nature14432

striking• 10 years ago

Someone who isn't me should write an extension replacing paywalled study links with sci-hub links.

nonbel• 10 years ago

I've been wondering about this for years now, I wonder if it is related:

"While performing immunohistochemistry on rabbit brain sections, we noticed a small number of neurons that were stained with only the secondary antibodies to rabbit IgG. The staining was distinctively localized in the dendrites and cytoplasm of cell bodies, in a Golgi-like staining, and was obviously different from a ubiquitous ‘background’ staining." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12426046

AFAIK, that research has gone largely ignored. It could mean a lot of immunohistological results are inaccurate.

ComputerGuru• 10 years ago

Not really new, research came out 10 months ago, discussed here on HN previously with 131 comments (but it is incredible):

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9647253

Full link to the original study: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2mmdmty3nxfe5u8/2015-louveau.pdf

Kinnard• 10 years ago

Was it just me or was there nothing about the structure and function of these vessels in that article?

dluan• 10 years ago

I really wish HN wouldn't fall for these cookie cutter press release strategies that catch people on buzzy, sciency vaportalk. eg "They'll have to rewrite the textbooks", pffft.

If this was VC funding mechanics or technical architecture articles, this kind of stuff wouldn't fly. So why are these self-promoting research articles the exception?

marshray• 10 years ago

VC funding mechanics and technical architecture don't have the wide human interest as medical scientist. Everybody has a body after all.

So a larger proportion of medical topic articles for non-doctors get written to be consumed by least common denominator readers. My impression is that there are fewer 'informed enthusiasts' and 'pro-sumers' on medical topics compared to, say, personal computing or photography.

heimatau3• 10 years ago

The gut (many say is ~70% of our immune system) is strongly linked to our psychological health. So, I don't see this as a surprise. The next question is what strains of bacteria tend to effect what in certain people? I don't think this will be answered quickly nor easily. The gut is crazy complicated.

visarga• 10 years ago

There is another explanation that is simpler. The gut is also lined up with nerve cells. They form the enteric nervous system, containing more neurons than the spinal cord. It's also called the second brain. Its function is to assist digestion by analyzing the food we eat and triggering reflexes. More than 90% of the body's serotonin lies in the gut, as well as about 50% of the body's dopamine.

So, that is why there is a strong link between the brain and the gut, and it explains why we feel so strongly our emotions in the gut.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_nervous_system

heimatau3• 10 years ago

Nerve cells? Sure. But...probiotics play a major role in anxiety/depression and other psych issues. There isn't a ton of research but it's fairly clear that the bacteria in the gut contribute to a person's psych well-being.

Various sources: https://www.google.com/#q=probiotics+psychological+effects+s...

cpncrunch2• 10 years ago

Article doesnt mention the gut or bacteria.

heimatau3• 10 years ago

With 70% of your immune system being the gut...it's implied.

Decent source: https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/17811/is-70-of-...

pygy_2• 10 years ago

Both anorexia nervosa and bulimia are likely linked to a single E. coli protein and the immune reaction against it.

The clinical presentation depends on whether the antibodies end up acting as agonists or antagonists of the receptor the bacterial protein targets.

There's experimental (causative) evidence in rodents and correlations in humans.

http://www.nature.com/tp/journal/v4/n10/full/tp201498a.html

Kenji• 10 years ago

Does that mean anorexia and bulimia could be treated with antibiotics that would cut back the population of bacteria that excrete this protein?

known• 10 years ago

Can we cure cancer/diabetes by stimulating brain?

Ace17• 10 years ago

As long as half people in clinical trials are given placebos, the answer must be "to some extent".

blubb-fish• 10 years ago

It's known for thousands of years - but it's nice to see how school medicine is catching up with the Buddhists and the Shamans :)

mvanvoorden• 10 years ago

Give it another 10, may be 20 years, and there might be enough research available that people stop downvoting posts that remind people that this knowledge has already been around for a few thousand years.

robmclarty3• 10 years ago

For people studying the brain, I would have hoped not to read the article in the highest contrast my screen can produce with pure white text on a pure black background. After the first two paragraphs I could see nothing but lines :(

xlm1717• 10 years ago

The worst part is it looks like they wanted the text to have a nice gray shade of #666, which is OK to read on a white background, but for some reason decided that white on black is better.

robmclarty3• 10 years ago

Designers need to understand that screen != print. When your design emits light (rather than reflects it) it can make brains feel bad.

robmclarty3• 10 years ago

re: downvotes: i'm sorry, but is the legibility of the OP's article not relevant to the discussion of said article?

dougk16• 10 years ago

New research shows brain is directly connected to the immune system

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