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Leon Smyth

@leonsmyth.bsky.social
1.1K followers 331 following 66 posts

CNS immunology, stroma, and barriers | Lab head @Monash | former postdoc in @kipnislab @WUSTL | Kiwi 🥝 🇳🇿

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Reposted by Leon Smyth
The Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation @genelayinstitute.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Macrophages near brain blood vessels regulate blood flow & waste clearance to protect against Alzheimers. #TheColonnaLab reports cMAF enables this key signaling. Congrats to Dr. Colonna! @washumedicine.bsky.social @mgbresearch.bsky.social h.bsky.social
cell.com
Brain perivascular macrophages regulate endothelial cell function via a cMAF-dependent transcriptional program in mouse and human
This study identifies cMAF as a key transcription factor that orchestrates the molecular crosstalk between brain perivascular macrophages and arteries, thereby sustaining cerebrovascular function in h...
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Two really cool papers on subarachnoid CSF flow in humans out recently: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Non-invasive characterization of perivascular subarachnoid spaces - Nature Communications
Cerebrospinal fluid’s compartmentalization remains unclear. Here, the authors show increased CSF-mobility around major cerebral arteries within the surrounding subarachnoid space, suggesting the prese...
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Michael Hochberg @mkhochb.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Opinion article co-authored with Peter Thrall: "AI will reorganize science. Will research remain a human enterprise?" www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
AI will reorganize science. Will research remain a human enterprise? | PNAS
AI will reorganize science. Will research remain a human enterprise?
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Sachin Gadani @saching.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
The Gadani Lab at the University of Pittsburgh is recruiting a post-doc! We are a new neuroimmunology lab interested in progressive multiple sclerosis, meningeal inflammation, and reactive glia. We are looking for a PhD scientist to spearhead funded research on Treg–glia interactions.
cfopitt.taleo.net
Post Doctoral.Post Doctoral.Associate
Click the link provided to see the complete job description.
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Wow 🤩 this image from the Hubble telescope as looks almost exactly like a dural sinus. I love when biology mirrors physics!
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Journal of Experimental Medicine @jem.org · 06/07/2026
Yan et al. show that basal skull bridging vein–associated ACE structures enable #CSF flow from the SAS into the dura, whereas spinal meninges lack these gateways, defining compartmentalized clearance regulated by anatomical exit zones and parenchymal border #macrophages. rupress.org/jem/article/...
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Nature Reviews Immunology @natrevimmunol.nature.com · 23/06/2026
ICYMI: cDC1s license CD8+ T cell-mediated neurodegeneration
dlvr.it
cDC1s license CD8+ T cell-mediated neurodegeneration
Nature Reviews Immunology, Published online: 22 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41577-026-01329-8A preprint by Hu et al. shows, in a mouse model of primary tauopathy, that conventional type 1 dendritic cells outside of the central nervous system prime CD8+ T cells against brain-derived antigens, which exacerbate neurodegeneration.
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Waggoner Lab @labwaggoner.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Streptococcal meningoencephalitis disrupts homeostatic, skull bone marrow–derived monocyte and macrophage trajectories in the dura @sciimmunology.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Jealous! Missing y’all!
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Cell - a Cell Press journal @cp-cell.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Now online! Persistent and transient senescent cells contribute to brain-barrier development
dlvr.it
Persistent and transient senescent cells contribute to brain-barrier development
Senescent cell states arise across brain-barrier cell types during development but diverge in duration and function. Endothelial cells and macrophages enter a transient, inflammatory state, whereas choroid plexus epithelial cells maintain a persistent, non-inflammatory state supporting long-term barrier function. These cells are required for brain-barrier formation and function.
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Ben Hogan @benjhogan.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Final version of our paper on zebrafish pericytes and BBB function is now out in Elife! Congrats to Oz the first author and all contributors. elifesciences.org/articles/104...
elifesciences.org
Mural cells protect the adult brain from hemorrhage but do not control the blood–brain barrier in developing zebrafish
Pericytes regulate cerebrovascular development, while vascular smooth muscle cells prevent hemorrhage and blood–brain barrier breakdown at vascular hotspots in juvenile and adult zebrafish.
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
And I didn’t even touch on the kinetics of efflux in the skull and this driving B cell negative selection.
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
All told, this paper is a huge advance for the field, and helps clarify some controversies. The tools developed here will be of massive use for the field going forward.
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
So what are lymphatics draining? I suspect a lot of fluid/CSF. But there is also the possibility that not much fluorescent tracer is observed if it has been digested, and peptides/antigens are also drained. This suggests the meninges filters what the node sees and abundance may dictate presentation.
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Again, this reflects previous findings (again looking at endogenous peptides) showing that a lot of CNS peptides are presented in the meninges, but only limited amounts in the lymph nodes (www.nature.com/articles/s41...)
nature.com
Endogenous self-peptides guard immune privilege of the central nervous system - Nature
Central nervous system (CNS)-derived regulatory self-peptides are essential for maintaining a continuous dialogue between the CNS and the immune system while balancing overt autoreactivity.
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
I don’t think this means lymphatics aren’t important. On the contrary, it likely reflects that a lot of CNS-derived protein is sequestered in the macrophage rich meningeal tissues that wastes have to pass through on their way to lymphatics.
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
The authors also see little brain waste in the draining cervical lymph nodes, compared to large amounts seen following tracer injections.
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
This reflects what we’ve seen with amyloid in 5XFAD mice (rupress.org/jem/article-...). Although amyloid is aggregation prone so not a perfect surrogate.
rupress.org
Amyloidosis of bridging veins is a pathologic feature of Alzheimer’s disease
We show that bridging veins accumulate amyloid in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease and human Alzheimer’s disease specimens, associated with impaired cer
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
But with endogenous wastes, they go to their nearest exit. These are often along narrow regions of the SAS where CSF tracer flow is more stochastic (especially to the bridging veins draining into the SSS). This is a lower resistance path for waste made in a superficial cortical region, for instance.
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
CSF efflux ≠ brain wastes efflux. Both go along their lowest resistance routes. For CSF this is mostly along cisterns.
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Beautiful paper from Andrew Yang’s group. A whole suite of new tools for studying brain waste clearance. A few take home points: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
cell.com
Physiological brain clearance architecture revealed by neuronal protein tracing
Neuronal protein tracing, unlike CSF tracers, reveals that brain clearance follows a “nearest exit” principle through distinct border immune niches disrupted differently by disease.
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John Lukens @lukensjohnr.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Macrophage-mediated refinement of the dural lymphatic regulates social behavior: Neuron www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Hao Yin @haoyin.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
EPAS1/HIF2α A530V (gain-of-function variant, oxygen-insensitive) #VascularMalformation 👉Human N=9 (16-63 y/o) Retinal capillary hemangioma Ocular/Spinal venous malformation Intracranial venous/cavernous malformation +Evidence of Epas1 A529V🐭 @insight.jci.org 2021 insight.jci.org/articles/vie...
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Siegenthaler Lab @siegenthalerlab.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Congrats to the newest PhD from the @siegenthalerlab.bsky.social, Dr. Sophia Kim! Beautiful thesis document & presentation! 🧠🦠🔬🎉 Sophia's thesis work on arachnoid barrier breakdown in meningitis is on bioRxiv - check it out! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Fibroblasts play an important role in the compartmentalization of the choroid plexus, according to new work in mice. By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/choroid-plex...
thetransmitter.org
Newly identified barrier cells seal off choroid plexus from CSF, rest of brain
A long-overlooked layer of fibroblasts exists inside the choroid plexus of mice and humans, adding complexity to the area’s compartmentalization.
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Rossana Azzoni @rossana-azzoni.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Some of my PhD work is now published in @mucosalimmunol.bsky.social!
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Waggoner Lab @labwaggoner.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Osteoclast-mediated skull bone channel remodeling influences meningeal immune infiltration upon challenge www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @sciimmunology.bsky.social spotlight of @cp-immunity.bsky.social linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii...
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Waggoner Lab @labwaggoner.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Microglia-glioblastoma crosstalk mediates glioblastoma invasion at the far infiltration zone @cp-immunity.bsky.social www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Waggoner Lab @labwaggoner.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Age-related NF-κB activation in fibroblasts remodels the lung resident immune system and promotes the emergence of pro-inflammatory Gzmk+ T cells @cp-immunity.bsky.social www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Roman Sankowski @rsankowski.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
New insights on brain macrophage repopulation by the Prinz group: Distinct origins and niches determine the cellular responsiveness of CNS macrophages after repopulation | @natimmunol.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Distinct origins and niches determine the cellular responsiveness of CNS macrophages after repopulation - Nature Immunology
Prinz and colleagues examine the distinct functions and repopulation properties of leptomeningeal and perivascular macrophages that mediate immune responses at brain boundaries.
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Tcellogic (Sue Kaech) @tcellogic.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Immunology at the Allen Institute is looking for next generation leaders, particularly those working in neuroimmunology and creating AI models in human disease. Please apply if you are interested in collaborating with other scientists at the Allen Institute alleninstitute.org/about/people...
alleninstitute.org
Next Generation Leaders
The Next Generation Leaders program at the Allen Institute aims to support emerging and diverse early-career researchers in bioscience who will contribute to cultivating new ideas to make a broad, tra...
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Sandro Da Mesquita @da-mesquita.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Sex-specific APOE4-dependent innate immunity regulates meningeal lymphatics, brain lipids, neuroinflammation, and cognition: Neuron www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
cell.com
Sex-specific APOE4-dependent innate immunity regulates meningeal lymphatics, brain lipids, neuroinflammation, and cognition
Delivanoglou et al. show that expression of APOE4, a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, leads to sexually dimorphic lymphatic and inflammatory responses in mice and humans alike. Suppressing APOE4-i...
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Sandro Da Mesquita @da-mesquita.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
🚨 Our study is online @cp-neuron.bsky.social! A fun read for all you neuroimmunology aficionados! This study proposes that targeting innate immunity/lymphatics in female & male E4 carriers might lead to different cognitive outcomes, highlighting the need for immunotherapies tailored to each sex. 👇
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Natasha O'Brown @natashaobrown.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
@tcpotts.bsky.social paper is live. Happy to share #FishNAP, a new, non-invasive way to measure #BBB permeability in 96-well format with #zebrafish www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Congrats Julie!!
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Sandro Da Mesquita @da-mesquita.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
🚨 Our search for a postdoctoral researcher is still on! Contact me if you feel passionate about investigating neuroimmune mechanisms in neurodegenerative disorders. Candidates should have proven experience with rodent models of neurodegenerative disorders.
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
John Lukens @lukensjohnr.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Brain-engrafted monocyte-derived macrophages from blood and skull-bone marrow exhibit distinct properties. @cp-neuron.bsky.social www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Waggoner Lab @labwaggoner.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Integrative CSF profiling identifies disease-specific immune responses in leptomeningeal disease @cp-cellrepmed.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell-reports...
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Its definitely a cool story and has come a long way since the CSHL meeting. Decided against GRC in the end, would have loved to go, but with new students and postdocs starting wanted to make sure I was on hand for them. Major FOMO but hopefully will be back in a couple of years with an entourage 😁
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Congrats Julie and Sophia! Looks great and the TNF data are particularly interesting! 🤩
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Siegenthaler Lab @siegenthalerlab.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
🚨 New preprint from our lab led by Sophia Kim w/ @kellydoran.bsky.social group @cuanschutz.bsky.social -- using neonatal 🐭 model of bacterial meningitis ➡️ arachnoid barrier is leaky, Cldn11 junctions are disrupted & cytokines are part of the problem. Lots of 🤩🧠🦠🔬 & compelling data, check it out! 1/5
graphical schematic of the meninges on top depicting the three layers [dura, arachnoid and pia] and other immune and vascular cell types. Inset shows Claudin-11 junction proteins connecting two sides of arachnoid barrier cells

bottom schematic is the same but in inflammation with bacteria, junctions breakdown, depiction of cytokine release by vascular, meningeal and immune cells - at side of graphic is summary of defects we observe in infection: 'increased barrier permeability' 'mislocalization of Cldn11+ tight junction' 'BAM activation' and "increased inflammatory response'
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Reposted by Leon Smyth
Journal of Experimental Medicine @jem.org · 04/03/2026
Amyloidosis of bridging veins is a pathologic feature of #Alzheimers disease, from @leonsmyth.bsky.social, Rupal Mehta, @jonykipnis.bsky.social et al. rupress.org/jem/article/... 📘 In our #Lymphatics collection: rupress.org/jem/collecti...
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Sachin Gadani @saching.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
How does inflammation kill neurons, and what can we do about it? Check out our latest paper where we consider this question: rdcu.be/e4nfP.
rdcu.be
Autoimmune neuroinflammation leads to neuronal death via MIF nuclease-mediated parthanatos
Nature Neuroscience - Neuroinflammation triggers DNA damage and subsequent parthanatos-mediated neuron death. Inhibiting parthanatos in a mouse model of autoimmune inflammation is neuroprotective...
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Sandro Da Mesquita @da-mesquita.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
The Da Mesquita lab at Mayo Clinic (www.mayo.edu/research/lab...) is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to work on projects investigating the role(s) of the meningeal lymphatic vasculature in models of neurodegenerative diseases. Please spread the word and contact me in case you are interested! 😃
mayo.edu
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Roman Sankowski @rsankowski.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Base barrier cells provide compartmentalization of choroid plexus, brain and CSF | Nature Neuroscience www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Base barrier cells provide compartmentalization of choroid plexus, brain and CSF - Nature Neuroscience
Verhaege et al. identify a conserved fibroblast barrier population at the base of the choroid plexus that compartmentalizes brain–CSF interfaces and is disrupted by inflammation, revealing a new site ...
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Waggoner Lab @labwaggoner.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Review @natrevdrugdiscov.nature.com Therapeutic targeting of neuroimmune mechanisms in neurodegeneration www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
First proof-of-concept for engineered T cells as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Yeah the morphology surely governing a lot of this, and perhaps the more limited set of junctional proteins that they express. Would be super cool to know more about the function!
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Leon Smyth @leonsmyth.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Very interesting, the junction structure looks different too - lots of buttons… 🤔
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