Wei-Na Jin

While multiple sclerosis (MS) has long been characterized by inflammatory demyelination and progressive neurodegeneration, cortical thinning and neuronal loss are definitive hallmarks of advanced pathology [1]. Focal cortical thinning can arise beside an overall reduction of the cortical thickness with disease progression [2]. Structural neuroimaging demonstrates that brain atrophy patterns and lesion burden are significantly associated with cognitive impairment and sensorimotor in MS [3, 4].

Research Article AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE Shihe Jiang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8542-2277, Xindi Li https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9027-6993, [...] , Yan Li https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0815-3565, Zhilin Chang https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3982-6240, [...] , Meng Yuan https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0752-8302, Ying Zhang https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8359-9897, Huimin Zhu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4340-1125, Yuwen Xiu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2083-7129, Hengri Cong https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8476-8379,...

Abstract Normal aging is accompanied by escalating systemic inflammation. Yet the potential impact of immune homeostasis on neurogenesis and cognitive decline during brain aging have not been previously addressed. Here we report that natural killer (NK) cells of the innate immune system reside in the dentate gyrus neurogenic niche of aged brains in humans and mice. In situ expansion of these cells contributes to their abundance, which dramatically exceeds that of other immune subsets.