Novel imaging tools for investigating the role of immune signalling in the brain

Abstract

In all cases accepted manuscripts should:  link to the formal publication via its DOI  bear a CC-BY-NC-ND license -this is easy to do, click here to find out how  if aggregated with other manuscripts, for example in a repository or other site, be shared in alignment with our hosting policy  not be added to or enhanced in any way to appear more like, or to substitute for, the published journal article AbstractThe importance of neuro-immune interactions in both physiological and pathophysiological states cannot be understated. As our appreciation for the neuroimmune nature of the brain and spinal cord grows, so does our need to extend the spatial and temporal resolution of our molecular analysis techniques. Current imaging technologies applied to investigate the actions of the neuroimmune system in both health and disease states have been adapted from the fields of immunology and neuroscience and are inherently limited by their semiquantitative nature, loss of spatial resolution, photobleaching and detection sensitivity. Thus, the development of innovative methods which overcome these limitations are crucial for imaging and quantifying acute and chronic neuroimmune responses. Therefore, this review aims to convey novel and complementary imaging technologies in a form accessible to medical scientists engaging in neuroimmune research.

Review: What innovations in pain measurement and control might be possible if we could quantify the neuroimmune synapse?

“…Critically, these signalling events can occur during the asymptomatic phase of the pathology, meaning that if these signals can be externalised, it makes microglia and their signalling factors potential biomarkers of health and disease early enough to provide personalised interventions without a broader impact on the herd. However, each of these cellular processes can occur with significant speed and potency, making quantification of these events within specific neuroanatomical compartments challenging (Jacobsen et al, 2016b). As such, we are presented with a similar case for astrocytes, with microglia providing an excellent target to change behaviour (Jalleh et al, 2012;Jacobsen et al, 2016a).…”

“…Moreover, these technologies can be used to establish best practice. However, these tools will not be able to inform day-to-day practice alone as they are often bulky and not physically fit for purpose owing to their size and complexity (Jacobsen et al, 2016b;Hutchinson et al, 2018). Instead rapid, rugged, cheap, reproducible and deployable technologies that measure the same or similar biological factors are needed.…”

“…In order to validate these putative peripheral biomarkers of biological coherence, a greater insight of the working of the neuroimmune interface is required. However, the current tools available to the neuroscience and immunology research fields are insufficient to explore the real-time function of these underappreciated cells of the neuroimmune interface (Jacobsen et al, 2016b;Hutchinson, 2018a). As discussed, the signalling events that occur at the neuroimmune interface engage high potency large peptides, and short-lived reactive species which are not detectable with the quantitative or spacial resolutions needed to understand how this system functions.…”

“…As discussed, the signalling events that occur at the neuroimmune interface engage high potency large peptides, and short-lived reactive species which are not detectable with the quantitative or spacial resolutions needed to understand how this system functions. Therefore, a new generation of technologies is required (Jacobsen et al, 2016b).…”

“…These multimodal imaging and sensing approaches are beginning to allow for complex biological events to be quantified (Jacobsen et al, 2016b;Li et al, 2018). It is clear that the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underpin biological coherence will require multiple systems to be working in concert.…”