ABOVE: (Left) T lymphocytes (pink and green cells) and blood vessels (orange) under normal conditions. (Right) T lymphocytes (pink cells), with calcium in green, which indicates cells responding to nerve signals, and blood vessels in orange after administration of noradrenaline. Both images were taken inside the lymph nodes of live mice.
SAPNA DEVI
The paper
S. Devi et al., “Adrenergic regulation of the vasculature impairs leukocyte interstitial migration and suppresses immune responses,” Immunity, doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2021.03.025, 2021.
Five years ago, researchers led by Scott Mueller, an immunologist of the University of Melbourne in Australia, injected noradrenaline, a neurotransmitter associated with stress, directly into the veins of mice. Scientists have long known that acute stress—both psychological and physical—can impair immunity, and Mueller was looking for the mechanism responsible for the effect.
The team used two-photon microscopy, a technique that allows researchers to look into live tissues, to examine how the mouse immune cells responded ...
