Compartmentalized ocular lymphatic system mediates eye-brain immunity. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38418880/)

These scientists wanted to understand how the eye and the brain are connected, especially when it comes to the immune system. They found that by studying how the immune system responds to a virus in the brain, they discovered that when they gave mice an immune boost directly into their eyes, it protected them not only against the virus in their brain but also against bacteria and even tumors. They also learned that the eye has a special drainage system that connects to the lymph nodes in the neck, similar to how the brain's immune system works. By stimulating this drainage system, they were able to improve the immune response in the eye and brain. They also found that by blocking certain signals in the eye, they could make gene therapy more effective by reducing the immune response. Overall, their research showed that the eye and the brain have a shared immune system that can help fight diseases, and this could lead to new treatments for eye and brain diseases in the future.

Yin X., Zhang S., Lee JH., Dong H., Mourgkos G., Terwilliger G., Kraus A., Geraldo LH., Poulet M., Fischer S., Zhou T., Mohammed FS., Zhou J., Wang Y., Malloy S., Rohner N., Sharma L., Salinas I., Eichmann A., Thomas JL., Saltzman WM., Huttner A., Zeiss C., Ring A., Iwasaki A., Song E. Compartmentalized ocular lymphatic system mediates eye-brain immunity. Nature. 2024 Feb 28. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07130-8.