Modulation of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by the sympathetic nervous system

• Grant number: 11/02738-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: December 01, 2011
• End date: July 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Cellular Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Alexandre Salgado Basso
• Grantee: Leandro Pires Araujo
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 08/58564-9 - Study of adaptive immune response modulation by the sympathetic nervous system: emphasis on autoimmunity, Th17 cells and Foxp3 + regulatory T cells, AP.JP

Abstract

The concept that the nervous and the immune systems interact is already well established. However, this approach is still rarely used when projects are outlined to better understand the events involved in the generation and regulation of adaptive immune responses. The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is one of the ways by which the immune and the nervous systems interact. Therefore, it is known that lymphoid organs such as thymus, spleen and lymph nodes receive intense sympathetic innervation, namely nerve fibers that use as main mediators of their actions catecholamines (norepinephrine and dopamine) and neuropeptide Y (NPY). The anatomy of the sympathetic innervation in the spleen and lymph nodes suggests that processes such as antigen presentation, activation and differentiation of T cells may be influenced by the SNS. Furthermore, dendritic cells and CD4+ T cells express receptors for catecholamines and NPY, which enables them to receive signals from the activity of the SNS. The influence of the SNS in the development of adaptive immune responses seems to have biological relevance since studies have shown that chemical denervation of SNS fibers leads to changes in the course of the disease in experimental models of autoimmunity such as arthritis and lupus. However, very little is known on how the SNS modulates the course of immune responses. Thus, this project aims to study how the SNS, ie, noradrenaline and NPY, modulate the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and adaptive immune response involved in the pathophysiology of the disease.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ARAUJO, LEANDRO PIRES; MARICATO, JULIANA TERZI; GUERESCHI, MARCIA GRANDO; TAKENAKA, MAISA CARLA; NASCIMENTO, VANESSA M.; DE MELO, FILIPE MENEGATTI; QUINTANA, FRANCISCO J.; BRUM, PATRICIA C.; BASSO, ALEXANDRE S.. The Sympathetic Nervous System Mitigates CNS Autoimmunity via beta 2-Adrenergic Receptor Signaling in Immune Cells. CELL REPORTS, v. 28, n. 12, p. 3120+, SEP 17 2019. (11/02738-1, 14/24156-2, 08/58564-9)