Delving into reality, recall and immunological memory, Technion researchers at the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine reveal how the memory of inflammation can both trigger illness, and protect health through anticipatory response.
Assoc. Prof. Asya Rolls and her team have again transcended prevailing dogma of immunological memory with an elegant demonstration of how insular neuronal ensembles in the brain both store and recover highly specific representations of immunity. The research highlights the delicate and complex interdependence between mind and the matter of physical health.
The study, published in Cell in November 2021, was led by Rolls and MD/PhD student Tamar Koren.
The research showed that during colon inflammation, several brain regions exert enhanced neuronal activity, one of which is the insular cortex. Identifying neurons in the insular cortex of mice with enhanced activity during inflammation, the researchers were able to trigger these neurons and cause a recurrence of inflammation in the same bodily location.
THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE FIELDS OF NEUROSCIENCE AND IMMUNOLOGY. IT’S GOING TO BE REALLY EXCITING TO SEE WHAT COMES NEXT.
– Prof. Kevin Tracey, Neurosurgeon and President of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research
Having revealed a physiological mechanism of the psychosomatic bridge in which neurons trigger inflammation, Koren and colleagues then did some reverse engineering: by suppressing specific neurons in the insular cortex, they rapidly reduced inflammation. This discovery has the potential to generate new treatments for chronic inflammatory conditions such as Crohn’s disease, psoriasis, and other autoimmune conditions.
“The body needs to respond to infection as quickly as possible before the attacking bacteria or viruses can multiply. A shorter response time allows the body to defeat the infection faster and with less effort,” Rolls explained.
This work was supported by an ERC Starting Grant, the Allen and Jewel Prince Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders of the Brain, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), and the Wellcome Trust.
