Brain Immunity Hub
Researchers have discovered structures in the skull's bone marrow where the immune system recognizes antigens, molecular markers from the brain. On August 19, a study in Nature revealed that in mice, these immune cell clusters responded to antigens from the brain. In a glioma brain tumor model, suppressing these clusters weakened the anti-tumor immune response and reduced animal survival.
The brain is surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid, which bathes the brain and spinal cord. Channels between the brain's hard shell and the skull's bone marrow allow this fluid and its dissolved substances to reach neighboring tissue. A 2022 study traced this path and its effect on innate immune cells. The current article's authors investigated whether immune cells in the skull's bone marrow can recognize antigens from the brain.
In the back of the skull's bone marrow, the authors found clusters of B cells, which produce antibodies, T helper cells, and cells that show antigens to T cells. The B cells showed signs of germinal centers, where they are selected and mature to produce antibodies. Comparison with bone marrow from the breastbone and thigh bone, microscopy, and single-cell analysis revealed that such clusters are characteristic of the back of the skull's bone marrow.
In another experiment, mouse neurons were engineered to produce a model protein antigen to track its path. It was detected in the cerebrospinal fluid, brain membranes, and skull bone marrow; immune T and B cells recognizing this protein were activated there. The authors also injected glioma cells with the same antigen either into the brain or under the skin on the mouse's side. When the tumor was inside the brain, the reaction occurred in the skull's bone marrow, while a tumor on the side triggered a response in the inguinal lymph nodes.
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Nature
Functional role of skull lymphoid structures in CNS immunosurveillance
Nature - Functional lymphoid structures within the skull bone marrow enable central nervous system immunosurveillance and shape immune responses to brain disease.
August 24, 2026 7
