So excited for our latest #neuroimmunology paper to come out in @CellCellPress! Work from the team @BabrahamInst and @CBD_VIB @KU_Leuven discovered that #brain #Tcells are needed for the maturation of @microglia and normal behaviour development. 1/11

#Brain #Tcells are known to drive #neuroinflammation, but their existence in the healthy brain has been controversial. Using #flowcytometry, #singlecell and #imaging we found that T cells were in the healthy brain of mice and humans. 2/11

(as an aside, using #AutoSpill allowed gave us the perfectly compensated data we needed for high dimensional #flowcytometry on #tissueresident cells) 3/11 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.29.177196v1

From @olivertburton: " #Tcells are constantly circulating around our body and enter all of our organs, including the #brain. They act as a go-between, transferring information from the rest of the body to the brain environment". 4/11

Project leader @EmanuelaPasciu1: "It has been really exciting to work on this project. We are learning so much about how our #immunesystem can alter our #brain, and how our brain modifies our immune system. The two are far more interconnected than we previously thought". 5/11

There are not many #Tcells in the healthy #brain, but there is a small population that is clearly beyond the glia limitans and present in the parenchyma. Check out these beautiful images by @jldvib. #neuroimmunology. 6/11

Also, not to brag, but Dr Carlos Roca invented new mathematical approaches to compare tSNE: the first tool allowing statistical comparison to #tSNE and #UMAP plots. Oh, and a cool use of Markov chain modelling to calculate the entry/exit rates of #Tcells entering the #brain. 7/11

#Tcells enter the #brain just before birth. They then trigger the final stage of #microglia maturation, allowing #synapticpruning of #neurons. Normal behaviour of mice depends on these #Tcells! An explanation for the great work from @jonykipnis on #neuroimmuno link. 8/11

It could also explain the brain-microbiome link: association between gut bacteria and #neuro, but no convincing mechanism. We show that brain #Tcells are modified by #microbiome, transmitting information from #gut to #brain. With @RaesLab. 9/11

Humans have a much longer gestation than mice though, and we don't know about the timing of immune cell entry into the brain. Does this occur before birth or is it delayed? Did a change in timing of entry contribute to the evolution of enhanced cognitive capacity in humans? 10/11

A new facet of #neuroimmunology to explore, and possibly a new therapeutic target to exploit?

(watch this space: @ys_lidia has led a collaboration with the Mathew Holt lab and @DeStrooperLab @CBD_VIB with very cool results)

11/11