Lymphatic endothelial marker positive cells in the mouse and human nervous system

National Institute Of Dental & Craniofacial Research

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Abstract

We mapped cells in the nervous system that express markers that are specific for lymphatic endothelial cells but not found in the vascular endothelial cells. Our goal is to understand unique routes that are utilized to move waste material out of the brain parenchyma and to explore if this process might be related to connective tissue cells that express specific lymphatic endothelial markers. Although many studies have been published about this question in mice, very few anatomical data are available in the human brain. We published our study in PNAS describing lymphatic marker positive elements in the meninges and parenchyma of the human brain. We also explored the ability of Covid-19 to enter cranial nerves of humans (identifying specific entry sites for the virus within the trigeminal, glossopharyngeal and vagal nerves) and suggest that this kind of retrograde travel might place the virus next to respiratory centers and might contribute to the inability of patients regaining their respiratory function - even if the infection has been cleared. We published these results in Lancet's eBioMedicine journal.