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SUMMARY:NeuroNA Human Cellular Neuroscience Seminar // Britta Engelhardt "
 How the brain barriers ensure CNS immune privilege"
DTSTART:20240926T160000
DTEND:20240926T170000
DTSTAMP:20260928T172108Z
UID:68e7d84c02594caaa24866d79e15581ec784535cf064a42b086ff630
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Britta Engelhardt\, Theodor Kocher Institute\, University of B
 ern\nThe Human Cellular Neuroscience Seminar series\, supported by the Neu
 roNA Foundation\, informs the NeuroLéman community about progress on stud
 ies on brain development\, stem cells and organoids\, and mechanisms of br
 ain and psychiatric disorders. The seminars take place alternately in Gene
 va at Campus Biotech (EPFL/UNIGE) and in Lausanne (CHUV/UNIL) and are also
  available online.\n\nFor the second seminar\, we host Britta Engelhardt\,
  who is Professor for Immunology and Director Theodor Kocher Institute at 
 the University of Bern. Her research is devoted to understanding the funct
 ion of the different brain barriers in regulating CNS immune surveillance 
 and how their impaired function contributes to neuroinflammatory diseases 
 such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or Alzheimer’s disease (AD).  Her labor
 atory combines expertise in vascular biology\, neuroimmunology and live ce
 ll imaging and has developed sophisticated in vitro and in vivo approaches
  to study immune cell interactions with the brain barriers in health and n
 euroinflammation.\n\nAbstract\nCentral nervous system (CNS) neurons coordi
 nate all our body functions by high speed electrical and chemical communic
 ation. To achieve this complex task\, neurons need a strictly regulated ho
 meostatic environment\, which does not tolerate uncontrolled entry of bloo
 d components including immune cells. The CNS has thus developed a unique r
 elationship with the immune system referred to as CNS immune privilege. Th
 e brain barriers comprise the endothelial blood-brain barrier (BBB) at the
  level of CNS parenchymal vessels\, the epithelial blood-cerebrospinal flu
 id barrier (BCSFB) of the choroid plexuses (ChP) in the brain ventricles\,
  the arachnoid barrier (AB) established by meningeal fibroblasts on the CN
 S surface and the evolutionary older brain barrier\, the glia limitans for
 med by astrocytes\, which encloses the entire CNS parenchyma. In our view\
 , the brain barriers evolved for protection and defense of the CNS parench
 yma analogous to the design of medieval castles surrounded by a two-walled
  moat. In this concept\, the CNS parenchyma (castle) is protected by the o
 uter tight junction-fortified brain barriers (BBB\, BCSFB and AB) and the 
 inner barrier constituted by the pia mater and the glia limitans. These ba
 rriers border the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-filled subarachnoid and periva
 scular spaces (castle moat) allowing for CNS immune surveillance.  Under 
 neuroinflammatory conditions immune cells cross the glia limitans and reac
 h the CNS parenchyma leading to breakdown of CNS homeostasis and brain bar
 rier functions. Our concept is supported by our recent observations in nov
 el fluorescent brain barrier reporter mice that allowed for direct observa
 tion of immune cell/barrier interactions by advanced in vivo-imaging.  Un
 derstanding the orchestrated function of the different brain barriers is o
 f fundamental importance to understand how these interfaces shape CNS immu
 nity and neuronal function and thus ultimately CNS health and disease.\n\n
 \n\n 
LOCATION:Centre des Laboratoires d’Epalinges (CLE): Salle B301\, and onl
 ine https://unil.zoom.us/j/4630072208?omn=91551803958
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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