Related Experiment Videos
Expression of CCR7 in multiple sclerosis: implications for CNS immunity
Pia Kivisäkk1, Don J Mahad, Melissa K Callahan
1Department of Neurosciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Annals of Neurology
|May 4, 2004
Summary
Immune cells like dendritic cells (DCs) and T cells use the CCR7 receptor to travel into the central nervous system (CNS). In multiple sclerosis (MS), these cells may migrate via cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
Area of Science:
- Neuroimmunology
- Cellular Immunology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- The central nervous system (CNS) lacks lymphatic vessels and is protected by the blood-brain barrier, making immune cell trafficking poorly understood.
- Chemokine receptor CCR7 is crucial for T cell and dendritic cell (DC) migration to lymphoid organs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of CCR7 in immune cell trafficking within the CNS, particularly in the context of multiple sclerosis (MS).
- To elucidate the pathways involved in the afferent and efferent limbs of CNS immunity.
Main Methods:
- Studied CCR7 expression in immune cells within the CNS (lesions and cerebrospinal fluid - CSF) of MS patients.
- Analyzed co-expression of CCR7 with myeloid cell markers (MHC class II, CD68, CD86) and T cell subsets (effector-memory, central-memory).
Main Results:
- CCR7+ myeloid cells, resembling maturing DCs, were abundant in MS lesions and CSF.
- Ninety percent of T cells in MS CSF expressed CCR7, with a depletion of CCR7-negative effector-memory T cells.
- T cells within MS parenchymal lesions uniformly lacked CCR7, suggesting local retention and differentiation.
Conclusions:
- DCs generated within the CNS may migrate to deep cervical lymph nodes via CSF, forming the afferent pathway of CNS immunity.
- Central-memory T cells, entering the CSF from circulation, likely execute the efferent limb of CNS immunity after local antigen restimulation.