TY - CHAP
T1 - Inflammation on the mind
T2 - Visualizing immunity in the central nervous system
AU - Kang, Silvia S.
AU - McGavern, Dorian B.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants AI070967-01 and AI075298-01, a grant from The Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and a grant from The Ray Thomas Edwards Foundation (all to D.B.M.) S.S.K. is presently supported by a National Research Service Award (NS061447-01). We would like to thank Drs. Jiyun Kim and Michael Dustin at New York University for providing the image shown in Fig. –.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - The central nervous system (CNS) is a remarkably complex structure that utilizes electrochemical signaling to coordinate activities throughout the entire body. Because the nervous system contains nonreplicative cells, it is postulated that, through evolutionary pressures, this compartment has acquired specialized mechanisms to limit damage. One potential source of damage comes from our immune system, which has the capacity to survey the CNS and periphery for the presence of foreign material. The immune system is equipped with numerous effector mechanisms and can greatly alter the homeostasis and function of the CNS. Degeneration, autoimmunity, and pathogen infection can all result in acute, and sometimes chronic, inflammation within the CNS. Understanding the specialized functionality of innate and adaptive immune cells within the CNS is critical to the design of more efficacious treatments to mitigate CNS inflammatory conditions. Much of our knowledge of CNS-immune interactions stems from seminal studies that have used static and dynamic imaging approaches to visualize inflammatory cells responding to different CNS conditions. This review will focus on how imaging techniques have elevated our understanding of CNS inflammation as well as the exciting prospects that lie ahead as we begin to pursue investigation of the inflamed CNS in real time.
AB - The central nervous system (CNS) is a remarkably complex structure that utilizes electrochemical signaling to coordinate activities throughout the entire body. Because the nervous system contains nonreplicative cells, it is postulated that, through evolutionary pressures, this compartment has acquired specialized mechanisms to limit damage. One potential source of damage comes from our immune system, which has the capacity to survey the CNS and periphery for the presence of foreign material. The immune system is equipped with numerous effector mechanisms and can greatly alter the homeostasis and function of the CNS. Degeneration, autoimmunity, and pathogen infection can all result in acute, and sometimes chronic, inflammation within the CNS. Understanding the specialized functionality of innate and adaptive immune cells within the CNS is critical to the design of more efficacious treatments to mitigate CNS inflammatory conditions. Much of our knowledge of CNS-immune interactions stems from seminal studies that have used static and dynamic imaging approaches to visualize inflammatory cells responding to different CNS conditions. This review will focus on how imaging techniques have elevated our understanding of CNS inflammation as well as the exciting prospects that lie ahead as we begin to pursue investigation of the inflamed CNS in real time.
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U2 - 10.1007/978-3-540-93864-4_10
DO - 10.1007/978-3-540-93864-4_10
M3 - Chapter
C2 - 19521688
AN - SCOPUS:69449100611
SN - 9783540938620
T3 - Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology
SP - 227
EP - 263
BT - Visualizing Immunity
PB - Springer Verlag
ER -