New NHLBI-funded research shows how the interaction between the nervous and the immune systems occurs in deadly lung infections. The findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, provide an enticing clue into a complex interplay between two systems traditionally viewed as disconnected.
The study, conducted in mice, revealed that neurons carrying nerve signals to and from the lungs suppress immune response during infection with Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium that is growing increasingly resistant to antibiotics and has emerged as a top killer of hospitalized patients.
According to the researchers, the findings suggest that targeting the nervous system could be one way to boost immunity and can set the stage for the development of nonantibiotic approaches to treat recalcitrant bacterial infections.