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Updated: Sep 29, 2025

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Complex Immune Response Following Brain Ischemia
Published on: July 26, 2024
Cerebrospinal fluid regulates skull bone marrow niches via direct access through dural channels
Jose A Mazzitelli1,2,3,4, Leon C D Smyth1,2, Kevin A Cross2,5
1Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Abstract:
It remains unclear how immune cells from skull bone marrow niches are recruited to the meninges. Here we report that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) accesses skull bone marrow via dura-skull channels, and CSF proteins signal onto diverse cell types within the niches. After spinal cord injury, CSF-borne cues promote myelopoiesis and egress of myeloid cells into meninges. This reveals a mechanism of CNS-to-bone-marrow communication via CSF that regulates CNS immune responses.
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