Immune Privilege

The nervous system is ‘immune privileged’, safeguarded by the specialized blood-brain, blood-cerebrospinal fluid, and blood-nerve fluid barriers, that tightly regulate immune cell and molecular trafficking into the nervous system. These barriers establish a highly controlled immunological environment that preserves neural function while permitting selective surveillance and responses to injury, infection, and disease. At the Shubayev Lab, we have pioneered two areas of immune privilege: (a) development of safe nanoparticles as neurovascular barrier-crossing drug and gene carriers, and (b) understanding pathological activities of neurotrophic viruses.