Gut infection may train immune sentries at the brain's border to remember microbes

The brain and spinal cord are highly protected treasures of the central nervous system, wrapped under three protective layers of meninges. The outermost layer, the dura mater, has leaky windows through which bacteria or parasites circulating in the blood can reach the central nervous system. As a line of defense against these sneaky attacks, the dura layer houses multiple populations of immune cells. Does that mean events like infections and inflammation that challenge the immune system in the gut can train and alter immune cells in the brain's outer protective layer?

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