Macrophage invasion into the Drosophila brain requires JAK/STAT-dependent MMP activation in the blood-brain barrier.

ABSTRACT: The central nervous system is well-separated from external influences by the blood-brain barrier. Upon surveillance, infection or neuroinflammation, however, peripheral immune cells can enter the brain where they often cause detrimental effects. To invade the brain, immune cells not only have to breach cellular barriers, but they also need to traverse associated extracellular matrix barriers. Neither in vertebrates nor in invertebrates is it fully understood how these processes are molecularly controlled. We recently established Drosophila melanogaster as a model to elucidate peripheral immune cell invasion into the brain. Here, we show that neuroinflammation leads to the expression of Unpaired cytokines that activate the JAK/STAT signaling pathway in glial cells of the blood-brain barrier

SUBMITTER: Winkler B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11908702 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature