Understanding brain-immune interactions to enable therapeutic modulation

Our team studies how communication between the immune system and the brain regulates neurological health and disease. Brain borders, including the meninges, choroid plexus, and perivascular spaces, are dynamic hubs for immune patrolling and integration, critically shaping neuroinflammation and barrier function. A central focus of our work is the skull bone marrow (SBM), a CNS-proximal immune niche that supplies immune cells directly to brain borders and responds to CNS-derived signals.

We investigate how the immune–brain axis operates in health and how it is remodelled across different disease settings, including neurodegenerative disorders, aging, and systemic inflammation. Using advanced imaging, multi-omics profiling, and functional immune perturbation approaches, we aim to define how SBM-derived and border-associated immune cells influence barrier integrity, neuroinflammation and disease progression. Ultimately, our goal is to develop spatially precise strategies to therapeutically modulate the neuro–immune axis while minimizing systemic immune interference.

To dissect how the neuro–immune axis governs immune surveillance and neurological disease, we address four key questions:

• How is the SBM immune niche organized in health and disease?
• How do SBM-derived immune cells traffic to and function at brain borders?
• How do these cells shape neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration?
• Can targeted modulation of the SBM–brain axis restore immune–brain homeostasis?

Areas of Expertise

• Neuro–immune axis in health and disease
• Brain border immunity and immune patrolling
• Skull bone marrow immune niches and trafficking
• Neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disorders
• Targeted immunomodulation strategies

Technology Transfer Potential

• Identification of druggable immune pathways within the immune–brain axis to modulate neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration
• Development of spatially targeted immunomodulatory strategies at the level of the skull bone marrow and brain borders
• Translation of mechanistic insights into actionable therapeutic concepts

Selected publications

• Van Hoecke, L. et al. Decoding brain border immunity to enable future therapeutic avenues. Trends Immunol (2026). Visit ➚
• Van Hoecke, L. et al. IL-34 empowers regulatory T cells with novel non-canonical function to safeguard brain barrier integrity during neuro-inflammation. bioRxiv (2024). Visit ➚
• Van Hoecke, L. et al. An immunological puzzle: The adaptive immune system fuels Alzheimer's disease pathology. Brain Behav Immun 117, 122-134 (2024). Visit ➚
• Van Hoecke, L. et al. Mesenchymal stromal cell extracellular vesicles as immune modulators and drug carriers in neurodegenerative disorders. Trends in Neurosciences 48, 919-934 (2025). Visit ➚
• Verhaege, D., et al. Newly discovered base barrier cells provide compartmentalization of choroid plexus, brain and CSF. Nature Neuroscience (2026). Visit ➚

Bibliography

• Full bibliography Visit ➚

In vivo immunostaining of the skull show immune rich niches in the skull. Fluorescence image of an intact mouse skull following in vivo immunostaining. In the living animal, fluorescently labeled antibodies were administered intravenously against CD31 (red) to label the blood vessels, and against CD45 (green) to visualize immune cells. The image reveals regional heterogeneity: the posterior part of the skull (left side of the image) contains a high density of CD45⁺ immune cells, which spatially coincides with a dense vascular network. In addition, an anterior skull region enriched in hematopoietic cells is observed.