Intimate neuro-immune interactions: breaking barriers between systems to make meaningful progress.

Jami L Saloman, Jonathan A Cohen, Daniel H Kaplan

Journal: Current opinion in neurobiology 2020;62():60-67

PMID: 31841783

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

The nervous system is often viewed as an isolated system that integrates information from the environment and host. Recently, there has been a renewed focus exploring the concept that the nervous system also communicates across biological systems. Specifically, several high profile studies have recently highlighted the importance of neuro-immune communication in the context of homeostasis, central nervous system disorders, host defense and injury. Here, we discuss the history of shared mechanisms and interconnectedness of the nervous, immune and epithelial compartments. In light of these overlapping mechanisms, it is perhaps unsurprising that neuro-immune-epithelial signaling plays a key role in regulating diverse biological phenomena. In this review, we explore recent breakthroughs in understanding neuro-immune signaling to highlight the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to biomedical research and the future development of novel therapeutics.

Address: Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Nutrition, Department of Neurobiology, Pittsburgh Center for Pain Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.; Department of Dermatology, Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.; Department of Dermatology, Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.11.021

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MeSH Terms: Central Nervous System Diseases, Homeostasis, Humans, Neuroimmunomodulation, Signal Transduction