General Information

Research Topics

Inflammation is a central mechanism in the most relevant neurological diseases, namely stroke, multiple sclerosis, brain trauma as well as meningitis, and contributes to the generation of pain. We are now beginning to understand the impact of the immune system on different nervous system functions and diseases, ranging from damage through tolerance to modulation and repair. Conversely, the immune system receives signals from the nervous system, such as those responsible for immune suppression after injuries to the brain. The fate of immune cells within the nervous system is dependent on their interaction with the cells of the nervous system. Our newly created network on underlying mechanisms of immune/nervous system crosstalk under physiological and pathological conditions will not only have an impact on each participating group, since common pathways are studied with different approaches, but will also serve as an excellent forum of education for students. In particular, the following are the major topics of this school program:

• the invasion and fate of immune cells in the brain responding to trauma (Ingo Bechmann)
• the immune mechanisms of ischemia (Ulrich Dirnagl)
• innate immunity: its molecular triggers and its effect on neural damage in acute brain inflammation (Jörg Weber, Ralf R. Schumann)
• continuous images of T cell/neuronal interactions (Robert Nitsch, Frauke Zipp) and blockade of the processes leading to chronic brain inflammation (Frauke Zipp)
• the impact of regulatory cells of the adaptive immune system on damage in chronic brain inflammation (Kirsten Falk)
• the communication of the nervous system with its "immune cells", especially the microglia (Helmut Kettenmann)
• the modulation of sensory nerve function by immune mechanisms (Gary R. Lewin, Christoph Stein)
• the influence of the immune system on neuronal plasticity (Robert Nitsch).