We present a special set of Review articles on neuroimmune communication that highlight how the immune system and nervous system are anatomically connected, mechanistically communicate and reciprocally influence the other's function.
Immunology and neuroscience have historically been separate fields of study, each with its own particular lingo, with few researchers readily conversant in both fields. Immune responses generated in the central nervous system (CNS) are distinct from those that arise in the periphery. Specific anatomical barriers and tissue-resident glial cells protect the brain parenchyma from potentially harmful immune-cell-mediated damage. Yet, some means of immunological control exists within the CNS that endows the ability to confront and contain various neurotropic pathogens or, when dysregulated, contributes to neuroinflammatory disease states. Recent studies have shown that the peripheral immune system and the nervous system can communicate using common molecular signaling cues.
This month,
Nature Immunology and
Nature Neuroscience present a joint online focus (
http://www.nature.com/focus/neuroimmune_communication) composed of a series of commissioned Review articles that examine the communication between the immune system and nervous system.
