Research area D:
Crosstalk between nervous and immune system

There is increasing evidence that immunological processes are not only involved in the classical inflammatory disorders of the nervous system such as multiple sclerosis but also in primarily non-inflammatory injuries, such as stroke and epilepsy. In any of these conditions or disorders, immune cells interact with cells of the nervous system. Although the initiating events differ considerably, we hypothesize that there are common pathways in the crosstalk between the immune and nervous systems. We intend to study this crosstalk by combining modern methods of molecular and cellular biology with imaging techniques. We will employ both in vivo and in vitro approaches including animal models of acute and chronic neurological disorders. Our aim is to elucidate the influence of both proinflammatory and regulatory immune cells, via contact or soluble mediators, on neural cells. We also want to unravel the nervous system's capacity to regulate the immune system in the course of CNS diseases. In joint preclinical experiments as well as in planned clinical trials, our major aim is to advance the understanding of the role of the immune response in CNS pathology as a prelude to developing innovative therapeutic strategies based on immune modulation to combat the devastating CNS diseases forming the focus of NeuroCure research.