Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026
Isolation of Brain and Spinal Cord Mononuclear Cells Using Percoll Gradients
Published on: February 3, 2011
Phenotypes of mononuclear cell infiltrates in human central nervous system
1Department of Neurological Sciences, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
Insights
This study analyzed mononuclear cell infiltrates in human central nervous system inflammatory diseases. Findings reveal diverse cell types and phenotypes, influenced by disease nature and lesion age, offering insights into immune responses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimmunology
- Pathology of the Central Nervous System
- Immunohistochemistry
Background:
- Mononuclear cell infiltrates are characteristic of central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory diseases.
- Understanding the specific phenotypes and prevalence of these cells is crucial for diagnosing and understanding disease pathogenesis.
- Previous studies have often focused on specific diseases, lacking a comparative analysis across various CNS inflammatory conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the diversity and phenotypes of mononuclear cell infiltrates in human CNS inflammatory diseases.
- To determine how disease nature and lesion age influence the dominance of specific cell types.
- To explore the potential pathognomonic significance of certain lymphocyte subsets in specific neurological infections.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a panel of monoclonal antibodies for cell identification in paraffin-embedded CNS tissue sections.
- Analyzed large tissue areas from 11 cases representing acute and chronic inflammatory CNS diseases.
- Estimated the prevalence and characterized the phenotypes of mononuclear cell infiltrates.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated significant diversity in the phenotypes of inflammatory mononuclear cell infiltrates across different CNS diseases.
- Observed that the dominance of specific cell types within lesions is significantly influenced by the underlying disease and the age of the inflammatory process.
- Identified a notable prevalence of CD4+CD45RO+ lymphocytes in acute rabies, and during convalescence from Japanese encephalitis and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.
Conclusions:
- The composition of mononuclear cell infiltrates in CNS inflammatory diseases is highly variable.
- Both the specific disease and the temporal stage of the lesion are critical determinants of immune cell infiltration patterns.
- The high prevalence of CD4+CD45RO+ lymphocytes may hold pathognomonic significance for certain viral encephalitides, warranting further investigation.
Abstract:
Using a panel of monoclonal antibodies applicable for identification of cell types in paraffin sections, the prevalence of mononuclear cell infiltrates with different phenotypes was estimated in large areas taken from 11 cases of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases in the human central nervous system. The present study clearly demonstrated a diversity of inflammatory mononuclear cell infiltrates, and the dominance of cell types in individual lesions appeared to be determined by both the nature of the diseases and the age of the lesions. The possible pathognomonic significance of a relatively high prevalence of CD4+CD45RO+ lymphocytes in acute rabies and in a convalescent stage of Japanese encephalitis and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is discussed.
