It had long been thought that the brain was ‘immunologically privileged’ (physically separated from the immune system). However, this dogma was overturned by a series of discoveries including those made by Professor Michal Schwartz at the Weizmann Institute. In this episode I talk with Michal about the different types of immune cells that are located in ‘immunological niches’ of the brain (choroid plexus, perivascular space, meninges..) and how these cells play critical roles in maintaining normal brain health and function (neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity, learning and memory). In addition, Michal tells us how the immune system is vital for healing and protecting the brain in case of injury or disease in a process called protective autoimmunity.

LINKS

The Schwartz laboratory webpage: https://www.weizmann.ac.il/brain-sciences/labs/schwartz/

Review article in Science:

https://www-science-org.proxy1.library.jhu.edu/doi/epdf/10.1126/science.abo7649

Review article in Neuron:

https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/272195/1-s2.0-S0896627324X00021/1-s2.0-S0896627324008821/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEOT%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJGMEQCIH9qI%2FHFo0TFwwhZ5hnpbny3R%2BBmGbU0Q6Jf2eSs4aMwAiAg1gQKCHXgtyB1QTOz9%2BHuFdAEwUjZfZxdN7qIuitxnSqyBQgdEAUaDDA1OTAwMzU0Njg2NSIMamYY8Czn0NEpjijeKo8Fst5HNVzMqIsK6tHRy1OPd3%2BiRf4CleOwam945epwh%2BWJCRv3vjV8cHVmcUPqNnQI6CNJ%2BHjihnNnr1KKKh25j9oqm8eVOB6EPMOQmOlZ8JnfOw82gvpFwLvNDQBspUb%2FSS7qIz1LTJRkQASLgxJzjCDB2emDLOTnwBmVrktQOqTAH1A04l%2FY5xtc1GQI9emBGMXRHjBFSH2LHORJ08vvfDEMpF%2FnFWesKWqcGC9SrZdSxXgiVvnL2kX%2FA96V1%2B5AevSLvAQz2GiAfG7IjuurqeZht68BqTv%2Bi%2BRqNRIYIFbGxDzeucq3ac1xrSlaHwznp31k%2BFLwJoLLYSEixqfBpuBat%2Ft9vzhxMlcflvyteLNaP4B4EHiuQ9DixBMYQ0hKdtHXZpd7wmY1UYM9g1S4Yc6GNMjj%2BfXQWexvCOgUbqPqIjDp4WtKdPA%2B1slxuoE4wyns%2Bvqntw01MjdbU9Bn4pBQQOwS4fzz9bFlB2iDKGAKXyN0SHqdWPpP9Scj6yJuIXOsZkSS0481ADJLyUF7n46ZFuKmYSsDdy5f5RegbcmY25YITTooTxJxK0IXBczdPZIkfWAsPvBvvq%2BREarPeOA3FAcEs5%2BOSSU41qk8QJEiHdOdnTuScsjI1yMElwnepaA8DdJ9DTU3YeXpMG7xColHHCpn%2FeCeTvP612oFVjqE4Q1yqBpdCiy2CMWdvHhtXcAZOeavgMMfqhk6OWN8qXlZubu8uFiOfDwDpPWZE5qpitKaC6pwM7lkYyecPstLn84Sh149kpVnMY1aLp2NgCZ4rvq4XWwV1dMNrPeKU7GyQBwIKIBGlQz5fHPFbINPDH8UXZW7cCe%2BT02g0BXwQY4lgzqGqxyYpe3NtS7dwzD%2B%2BO29BjqyAemqzi7IVALnQ9vlrBPSO%2BkAPcisPB%2FY%2B8BmQC16wLFwu63gufdnti8i%2FsS1H%2FD%2BpPqJ3t1vn2wie%2FOc9mgRZkY8HqNqX9Dv%2FUH%2FOICaGadyLdPc8A3sjo7bPtUV42NA5FZwBt8YiikhkCFQwzTcrHzr5fP9kN9ThQVSY1DMSTz%2BMbLmLWoolWEwLwzL9mS3qEz2mX3h%2Boec4CYuKBRgExYTH0V1dk0bfca4YMPpvgER7iA%3D&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20250223T204131Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTYZTUPN5RI%2F20250223%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=59057549b15a459c579302af14796c40e5c70192d93a62b69b68c2bd3942cd8b&hash=bc06cbd441c60c0f8ee395108521ce86afe847a68e5f109544b937b88a9c473c&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S0896627324008821&tid=spdf-34e9b5cb-d1e9-4a56-8a8b-edab99b3d37e&sid=d752fa96683d9742086a083805b7d9da151bgxrqa&type=client&tsoh=d3d3LXNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QtY29tLnByb3h5MS5saWJyYXJ5LmpodS5lZHU%3D&rh=d3d3LXNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QtY29tLnByb3h5MS5saWJyYXJ5LmpodS5lZHU%3D&ua=0f105a50500e5e5d5c53&rr=916a0981a902c99d&cc=us