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Nature Immunology 9, 117–118 (1 February 2008) | doi:10.1038/ni0208-117

Lymphocyte transmigration in the brain: a new way of thinking

Boris P-L Lee & Beat A Imhof

Lymphocytes depend on endothelial adhesion molecules such as ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, upregulated with inflammation, to facilitate transmigration across junctional barriers. New data show that ALCAM replaces VCAM-1 in the CNS during the development of neuroinflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Leukocyte transmigration is a process that is strictly regulated in conditions of both homeostasis and inflammation. The mechanisms involved can vary substantially as a direct reflection of the wide range of endothelia encountered in the vasculature.