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Papers: 6 Feb 2021 - 12 Feb 2021

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2021 Feb 09


Annu Rev Immunol

Immunosensation: Neuroimmune Cross Talk in the Skin.

Authors

Tamari M, Ver Heul AM, Kim BS
Annu Rev Immunol. 2021 Feb 09.
PMID: 33561366.

Abstract

Classically, skin was considered a mere structural barrier protecting organisms from a diversity of environmental insults. In recent decades, the cutaneous immune system has become recognized as a complex immunologic barrier involved in both antimicrobial immunity and homeostatic processes like wound healing. To sense a variety of chemical, mechanical, and thermal stimuli, the skin harbors one of the most sophisticated sensory networks in the body. However, recent studies suggest that the cutaneous nervous system is highly integrated with the immune system to encode specific sensations into evolutionarily conserved protective behaviors. In addition to directly sensing pathogens, neurons employ novel neuroimmune mechanisms to provide host immunity. Therefore, given that sensation underlies various physiologies through increasingly complex reflex arcs, a much more dynamic picture is emerging of the skin as a truly systemic organ with highly coordinated physical, immunologic, and neural functions in barrier immunology. Expected final online publication date for the , Volume 39 is April 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.