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Interleukin-3 gets a fresh start in the brain

Genes & Immunity volume 24, pages 289–291 (2023)Cite this article

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The nervous and immune systems are deeply intertwined. Although we know that coordination among these systems is essential for a healthy brain and goes awry in disease [1, 2], the nature of this biological crosstalk has remained unclear. Our recent discoveries [3, 4] shed light on new players that orchestrate this nervous-immune dialogue during neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. Using multiple murine models and human tissue, we have identified interleukin-3 (IL-3) as a molecular messenger between the central nervous and peripheral immune systems that shapes brain inflammation and is an emerging therapeutic target.

IL-3 was one of the first interleukins discovered [5]. Despite its early provenance, its diverse functions have remained ill-defined. IL-3 is a member of the colony stimulating factor (CSF) family and its actions were initially described in the bone marrow where it regulates hematopoiesis and stimulates the myeloproliferation of hematopoietic stem cells during inflammatory need [6, 7]. However, IL-3 is dispensable for steady state hematopoiesis and its roles beyond the bone marrow have remained unclear. While researchers have uncovered important functions of allied growth factors like macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and granulocyte macrophage (GM)-CSF in the brain, whether IL-3 acts in the central nervous system (CNS) and contributes to pathology was largely unknown.

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Fig. 1: The role of IL-3 signaling in Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the National Institutes of health (NIH) R01AG082185, R01HL158534, R00HL151750, the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, and an ISMMS Karen Strauss Cook Research Scholar Award (to CSM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiovascular Research Institute and the Department of Medicine, Cardiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Abi G. Yates, Annie Khamhoung & Cameron S. McAlpine

  2. Friedman Brain Institute and the Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Abi G. Yates, Annie Khamhoung & Cameron S. McAlpine

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  1. Abi G. Yates
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AGY and AK wrote and edited the manuscript. CSM supervised, conceived of the manuscript, designed the figure, and wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Cameron S. McAlpine.

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Yates, A.G., Khamhoung, A. & McAlpine, C.S. Interleukin-3 gets a fresh start in the brain. Genes Immun 24, 289–291 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41435-023-00231-w

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