No abstract

Numerous methods of T cell depletion lead to impairment of learning and memory function in mice. While adoptive transfer of whole splenocytes rescues learning behavior impairments, the precise sub-population and antigenic specificity of the T cells mediating the rescue remains unknown. Using several transgenic mouse models in combination with adoptive transfers, we demonstrate the necessity of an antigen-specific CD4+ T cell compartment in normal spatial learning and memory, as measured by the Morris water maze (MWM). Moreover, transfer of a monoclonal T cell population reactive to the central nervous system (CNS) antigen, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), was sufficient to improve cognitive task performance in otherwise impaired OTII mice, raising the possibility that the antigen-specificity requirement of pro-cognitive T cells may be directed against CNS-derived self-antigens.

No abstract

The traditional view of the central nervous system (CNS) as an immune-privileged organ yielded a longstanding perception of such interactions—as seen for example in multiple sclerosis (MS) 1, 2—as intrinsically destructive. This notion is changing with the identification of several homeostatic functions attributable to beneficial T-cell/CNS interaction 3, for example in hippocampal-dependent learning 4 and stress response paradigms 5, and in models of neurodegeneration and CNS injury 6. Here we provide insights into the maintenance, and dynamics of the meningeal T-cell repertoire. We show that meningeal T-cell composition is coupled to the CNS-draining deep cervical lymph nodes (dCLNs), whose surgical removal interrupted the normal flow of meningeal T-cells and resulted in cognitive impairment.