Detection of lymphatic vessels that have never been seen in the human brain

Scientists in the United States have discovered a series of lymphatic vessels in the body that have a link between the brain and the immune system - the connection that researchers have suggested does not exist before.

This finding not only promotes rewriting textbooks but can lead to a new understanding of how the immune system affects our brains and behavior.

Jonathan Kipnis, lead researcher from the University of Virginia, told Josh Barney from the university magazine, "I don't really believe there are structures in the body that we're not aware of. I give that the body is mapped ".

The new lymphatic vessels were first published in the journal Nature last June but hardly attracted the attention of outsiders except for neuroscience experts.

However, the discovery was published last week when the team showed that the immune system could actually control social behavior through the vessels in the body.

The lymphatic system is made up of vessels that transport white blood cells and other immune cells in our bodies. It acts as a connection between tissues and blood vessels, eliminating dead blood cells and other wastes. However, for decades scientists have been convinced that the brain does not have any lymphatic vessels and therefore does not have a direct connection to the immune system.

Luminous image of lymphatic vessels.(Photo: University of Virginia).

Along with the blood brain barrier, lymphatic vessels keep our most important organs safe from intrusion from outside pathogens. But last year researchers showed that this is not the case. In fact, lymphatic vessels are simply hidden in the meninges, the tissue covering the brain.

To clarify this, the researchers took the entire meninges of the mouse and placed them in a single slide instead of cutting them as the research they usually did.

When studying the entire meninges under a microscope, scientists found that immune cells were spread across the sample group in vascular-like patterns - a phenomenon that previous studies had given That can't.

The team then injected the dye into anesthetized mice so that they could see how the cytoplasmic and immune transport circuits from the cerebrospinal fluid and veins in the sinuses enter the nodules. uterine lymph - a direct connection between the immune system and the brain.

The team also found similar circuits when a human autopsy was performed, but they still needed to show exactly how they work and how they function on humans. They found that this could be the key to treating a variety of schizophrenic diseases to Alzheimer's.

Kipnis said: "With Alzheimer's disease, there is an accumulation of large blocks of protein within the brain. We think the reason for this accumulation is because the circuits have not removed these protein blocks." .

The latest study from the team also shows that by turning off a molecule of the immune system can greatly affect the behavior of mice and prevent them from interacting with other mice. This shows an important role between the immune system and other social states such as autism.

Kipnis added: "We believe that for every neurological disease that will have an immune component to it, these lymph vessels may be the key."

There is still a lot of work to be done and the discovery of new lymph vessels will lead to many questions that researchers will continue to find out. However, it must be admitted that it is interesting to have a new approach to the central nervous system.

Kevin Lee, director of the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Virginia, who was not involved in the study, recalled the moment when Kipnis showed him his results."I only say one sentence: They will have to rewrite the textbook."

Lee told Barney "There has never been a lymphatic system for the central nervous system and it has been very clear since the first observation. They have done a lot of research since then to reinforce the discovery. This and this will fundamentally change the way people look at the relationship between the central nervous system and the immune system. "