The subfornical organ is a nucleus for gut-derived T cells that regulate behaviour

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Yoshida, Tomomi M.; Nguyen, Mytien; Zhang, Le; Lu, Benjamin Y.; Zhu, Biqing; Murray, Katie N.; Mineur, Yann S.; Zhang, Cuiling; Xu, Di; Lin, Elizabeth; Luchsinger, Joseph; Bhatta, Sagar; Waizman, Daniel A.; Coden, Mackenzie E.; Ma, Yifan; Israni-Winger, Kavita; Russo, Anthony; Wang, Haowei; Song, Wenzhi; Al Souz, Jafar; Zhao, Hongyu; Craft, Joseph E.; Picciotto, Marina R.; Grutzendler, Jaime; Distasio, Marcello; Palm, Noah W.; Hafler, David A.; Wang, Andrew
• 署名单位: Yale University; Yale University; Yale University; Yale University; Yale University; Yale University; Yale University; Yale University; Yale University; Yale University
• 刊物名称: Nature
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0028-2068
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09050-7
• 发表日期: 2025-07-10
• 关键词: sexual-dimorphism; interferon-gamma; mice; microbiota; abnormalities; expression; responses; memory; cd4; bet

摘要

Specialized immune cells that reside in tissues orchestrate diverse biological functions by communicating with parenchymal cells1. The contribution of the innate immune compartment in the meninges and the central nervous system (CNS) is well-characterized; however, whether cells of the adaptive immune system reside in the brain and are involved in maintaining homeostasis is unclear2, 3-4. Here we show that the subfornical organ (SFO) of the brain is a nucleus for parenchymal alpha beta T cells in the steady-state brain in both mice and humans. Using unbiased transcriptomics, we show that these extravascular T cells in the brain are distinct from meningeal T cells: they secrete IFN gamma robustly and express tissue-residence proteins such as CXCR6, which are required for their retention in the brain and for normal adaptive behaviour. These T cells are primed in the periphery by the microbiome, and traffic from the white adipose and gastrointestinal tissues to the brain. Once established, their numbers can be modulated by alterations to either the gut microbiota or the composition of adipose tissue. In summary, we find that CD4 T cells reside in the brain at steady state and are anatomically concentrated in the SFO in mice and humans; that they are transcriptionally and functionally distinct from meningeal T cells; and that they secrete IFN gamma to maintain CNS homeostasis through homeostatic fat-brain and gut-brain axes.