Skull bone marrow channels as immune gateways to the central nervous system

Jose A Mazzitelli; Fadi E Pulous; Leon C D Smyth; Zeynep Kaya; Justin Rustenhoven; Michael A Moskowitz; Jonathan Kipnis; Matthias Nahrendorf

doi:10.1038/s41593-023-01487-1

Skull bone marrow channels as immune gateways to the central nervous system

Nat Neurosci. 2023 Dec;26(12):2052-2062. doi: 10.1038/s41593-023-01487-1. Epub 2023 Nov 23.

Authors

Jose A Mazzitelli^#^{1

2

3

4}, Fadi E Pulous^#^{5

6}, Leon C D Smyth^{1

2}, Zeynep Kaya^{5

6}, Justin Rustenhoven⁷, Michael A Moskowitz^{5

6

8}, Jonathan Kipnis^{9

10

11

12}, Matthias Nahrendorf^{13

14

15

16}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
² Center for Brain Immunology and Glia (BIG), Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
³ Medical Scientist Training Program, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
⁴ Neuroscience Graduate Program, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
⁵ Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁶ Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁷ Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
⁸ Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁹ Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA. kipnis@wustl.edu.
¹⁰ Center for Brain Immunology and Glia (BIG), Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA. kipnis@wustl.edu.
¹¹ Medical Scientist Training Program, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA. kipnis@wustl.edu.
¹² Neuroscience Graduate Program, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA. kipnis@wustl.edu.
¹³ Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. mnahrendorf@mgh.harvard.edu.
¹⁴ Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. mnahrendorf@mgh.harvard.edu.
¹⁵ Cardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. mnahrendorf@mgh.harvard.edu.
¹⁶ Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany. mnahrendorf@mgh.harvard.edu.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Decades of research have characterized diverse immune cells surveilling the CNS. More recently, the discovery of osseous channels (so-called 'skull channels') connecting the meninges with the skull and vertebral bone marrow has revealed a new layer of complexity in our understanding of neuroimmune interactions. Here we discuss our current understanding of skull and vertebral bone marrow anatomy, its contribution of leukocytes to the meninges, and its surveillance of the CNS. We explore the role of this hematopoietic output on CNS health, focusing on the supply of immune cells during health and disease.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Bone Marrow*
Central Nervous System*
Head
Meninges
Skull

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding