The Ins and Outs of Central Nervous System Inflammation-Lessons Learned from Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease that is characterized by the inappropriate invasion of lymphocytes and monocytes into the central nervous system (CNS), where they orchestrate the demyelination of axons, leading to physical and cognitive disability. There are many reasons immunologists should be interested in MS. Aside from the fact that there is still significant unmet need for patients living with the progressive form of the disease, MS is a case study for how immune cells cross CNS barriers and subsequently interact with specialized tissue parenchymal cells. In this review, we describe the types of immune cells that infiltrate the CNS and then describe interactions between immune cells and glial cells in different types of lesions. Lastly, we provide evidence for CNS-compartmentalized immune cells and speculate on how this impacts disease progression for MS patients.

Automated summary

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease characterized by the invasion of immune cells into the central nervous system, causing demyelination of axons and subsequent physical and cognitive disability. Immunologists are interested in MS as it provides a case study for how immune cells interact with CNS barriers and specialized tissue cells. The review describes the infiltration of immune cells into the CNS, their interactions with glial cells in different lesions, and the impact of compartmentalized immune cells on disease progression.