Immune Cells of the Blood Might Replace Dysfunctional Brain Cells, Nature Immunology Reveals

Blood-circulating immune cells can take over the essential immune surveillance of the brain, this is shown by scientists of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research in Tübingen. Their study, now published in PNAS, might indicate new ways of dealing with diseases of the nervous system. The immune system is comprised of multiple cell types each capable of specialized functions to protect the body from invading pathogens and promote tissue repair after injury. One cell type, known as monocytes, circulates throughout the organism in the blood and enters tissues to actively phagocytose (eat!) foreign cells and assist in tissue healing.