Glial cells: T cell interactions

Interaction of T cells with glial cells, predominantly phagocytic microglia, is necessary to mount an immune response against pathogens and to prevent persistent central nervous system infection. This acute immune reaction may often lead to neuronal injury, which, in an ideal situation, is self-resolving. However, when the control mechanisms of the immune response are altered, this primarily antimicrobial reaction may lead to different disorders including autoimmunity or even neurodegeneration. Under these pathological conditions, disease severity depends mostly on the cross-interactions between all cell types in the central nervous system involved in the disease, such as invading T cells and local antigen-presenting glial cells.