ARI MOLOFSKY LAB @ UCSF

Tissue resident immune cells in the brain

A third area of laboratory focus with growing emphasis is neuroimmunology, often performed in collaboration with the AV Molofsky lab. Although microglia, the brain-resident macrophages, are known to impact normal neuronal circuit development, as well as shaping beneficial and pathologic responses during neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, the role of type 2 immune signals and brain-resident lymphocytes is largely unknown. We are studying the regulation and function of type 2 immunity in the brain, with a focus on meningeal lymphocytes, including how these lymphocytes impact glia to shape developing neuronal circuits and synapse formation and remodeling and how they impact recovery from CNS damage.  We are also studying how CNS damage and perturbation may alter immune-stomal niches in both the meninges and CNS parenchyma to impact both early and late responses to brain injury, infection, and other perturbations.