Frontiers in Immunology (May 2018)

The Choroid Plexus Functions as a Niche for T-Cell Stimulation Within the Central Nervous System

  • Itai Strominger,
  • Itai Strominger,
  • Itai Strominger,
  • Yehezqel Elyahu,
  • Yehezqel Elyahu,
  • Yehezqel Elyahu,
  • Omer Berner,
  • Omer Berner,
  • Omer Berner,
  • Jensen Reckhow,
  • Jensen Reckhow,
  • Jensen Reckhow,
  • Kritika Mittal,
  • Kritika Mittal,
  • Kritika Mittal,
  • Anna Nemirovsky,
  • Anna Nemirovsky,
  • Anna Nemirovsky,
  • Alon Monsonego,
  • Alon Monsonego,
  • Alon Monsonego

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01066
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9

Abstract

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The choroid plexus (CP) compartment in the ventricles of the brain comprises fenestrated vasculature and, therefore, it is permeable to blood-borne mediators of inflammation. Here, we explored whether T-cell activation in the CP plays a role in regulating central nervous system (CNS) inflammation. We show that CD4 T cells injected into the lateral ventricles adhere to the CP, transmigrate across its epithelium, and undergo antigen-specific activation and proliferation. This process is enhanced following peripheral immune stimulation and significantly impacts the immune signaling induced by the CP. Ex vivo studies demonstrate that T-cell harboring the CP through its apical surface is a chemokine- and adhesion molecule-dependent process. We suggest that, within the CNS, the CP serves an immunological niche, which rapidly responds to peripheral inflammation and, thereby, promotes two-way T-cell trafficking that impact adaptive immunity in the CNS.

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