Navigating Uncharted (Neuroimmune) Waters
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Jonathan Kipnis, Ph.D.
BJC Investigator
Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Immunology
Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience and Neurosurgery
Director, Brain Immunology and Glia (BIG) Center
Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Pathology & Immunology
Jonathan Kipnis is a neuroscientist, immunologist, and professor of pathology and immunology at the Washington University School of Medicine. His lab studies interactions between the immune system and nervous system. He is best known for his lab's discovery of meningeal lymphatic vessels in humans and mice, which has impacted research on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis, neuropsychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and Rett syndrome.
The Kipnis lab studies complex interactions between the immune and nervous systems. They investigate how the nervous and immune systems talk to each other in health and disease. They have discovered lymphatic vessels in the tissues surrounding the brain, a finding that has challenged some of the previous dogmas in the field of neuro-immunology and increased our knowledge and understanding of how the immune system impacts neurological diseases.
Their goal is to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying nervous and immune system interactions in neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental and mental disorders as well as in physiology (as in healthy aging).
Summary
The brain, long considered an immune-privileged organ, is continuously surveyed and maintained by intricate clearance systems. Recent discoveries have reshaped our understanding of brain homeostasis, revealing essential roles for meningeal lymphatic vessels and glymphatic pathways in facilitating waste removal, fluid balance, and immune communication. In this lecture, I will discuss how the lymphatic and glymphatic systems cooperate to maintain brain health across the lifespan — and how their dysfunction contributes to aging and disease. I will highlight the dynamic interplay between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow, perivascular transport, meningeal lymphatic drainage, and immune regulation at the brain's borders. Emerging insights into these clearance mechanisms not only redefine brain physiology but also open new therapeutic avenues for neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disorders.
Learning Objectives:
- Understanding the concept of glymphatic/lymphatic brain clearance
- Learning anatomy of “brainwashing”
- Understanding the role of meningeal lymphatics in health, aging and disease
https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=55014
This page was last updated on Monday, April 28, 2025