A protein found in neurons helps to limit inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS), contributing to the system's specialized immune environment.
The CNS can stave off excessive inflammation. This 'immune privilege' has been attributed to the blood–brain barrier that restricts the entry of certain immune cells, but recent work has suggested a role for other cells and molecules. Lieping Chen at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and his colleagues found that SALM5, a protein involved in neuronal growth and development, inhibits inflammation in the mouse CNS. In animals with an autoimmune CNS disease, blocking a receptor for SALM5 or treating with an antibody against SALM5 aggravated symptoms. Applying SALM5 to certain immune cells in a lab dish suppressed their response to a pro-inflammatory molecule.
The findings could lead to treatments for inflammatory neurological diseases, the authors suggest.
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Protein linked to immune privilege. Nature 532, 151 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/532151e
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/532151e
