Years ago, a patient told me her emotions changed after her hysterectomy. At that time, I wondered if some nerve tissue was present in the uterus that, when removed, affected her.
Recently, I read Glial cells may take on big jobs in unexpected body parts on Science News referring to a study that showed glial cells in the spleen and their connection with the nervous system.[1]
Glia
A long time ago, in medical school, we were taught that glial cells are just connective tissues that support the nerve cells in the brain and peripheral nerves.
Much has changed since then. Glial tissues in the brain are now known to participate in the maintenance of the brain cells and synaptic plasticity.
So what are glial cells doing in the spleen?
The spleen is a lymphoid organ that detects foreign antigens in the blood and has a major role in the immune system. A person who has a splenectomy is more prone to infections.
The physical connection of the spleen with the nervous system is a nerve from the sympathetic nervous system, the sytem responsible for the fight or flight response.
The experiment of Lucas et al. looked for the S100B and GFAP proteins to identify the glia. They found that the glia inside the spleen is exclusively associated with the sympathetic nerves.[1]
Unlike glia from other areas, spleen glia expresses genes associated with immune responses, including those involved in cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions, phagocytosis, and the complement cascade.
These findings add to the connection between the brain and the immune system.
One example is that in people with a stroke, the B-lymphocytes in the spleen die, making the stroke patient more prone to infections.[3]
Glia in other organs
In 1973, a report was made about the presence of glia in uterine tissue. The glia was believed to come from a fetal brain implanted in the uterus while curetting. Little is known about glia outside the brain then, and proteomics did not start until 1995.
Glial cells have been identified in the lungs, heart, and intestines.
Glia in the intestines participate in intestinal movement and are involved in gastrointestinal barrier function, immunity, host defense, and tissue repair.
Interconnections
As mentioned earlier, Lucas et al. used S100B as a marker to identify peripheral glia. S100B is a protein that is involved in a range of cellular processes.
In a previous article, The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein cross-reacts with eleven human proteins to cause autoimmune diseases, S100B is one of the proteins that can cross-react with the antibodies produced against the spike protein.
Could an autoimmune response directed against the S100B in the spleen affect the immune system of those who had COVID-19 or got the shots and lower the immunity or cause autoimmune disease?
The findings in this research may also explain what happens in the Wim Hof Method, where cycles of deep breathing are done while immersed in ice-cold water. That will surely stimulate your sympathetic nervous system.
In one study, subjects who did the Wim Hof Technique did not have a full-blown septic response when injected with an E. Coli toxin compared to controls. You can read more about that at Secrets of the Ice Man: Voluntary control of adrenaline and the effect on the immune system.
Anyway, the purpose of this short article is to show the connection between the nervous system and the immune system. Science grows by leaps and bounds, and medicine in the future will be a lot different.
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References:
- Lucas TA, Zhu L, Buckwalter MS. Spleen glia are a transcriptionally unique glial subtype interposed between immune cells and sympathetic axons. Glia. 2021 Jul;69(7):1799-1815. doi: 10.1002/glia.23993. Epub 2021 Mar 12. PMID: 33710690; PMCID: PMC8884074.
- Perea G, Navarrete M, Araque A. Tripartite synapses: astrocytes process and control synaptic information. Trends Neurosci. 2009 Aug;32(8):421-31. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2009.05.001. Epub 2009 Jul 15. PMID: 19615761.
- McCulloch L, Smith CJ, McColl BW. Adrenergic-mediated loss of splenic marginal zone B cells contributes to infection susceptibility after stroke. Nat Commun. 2017 Apr 19;8:15051. doi: 10.1038/ncomms15051. Erratum in: Nat Commun. 2017 Aug 18;8:16151. PMID: 28422126; PMCID: PMC5399306.
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