Meningeal B cells: Emerging players at the brain border.

The meninges, long viewed as passive protective membranes, are now recognized as active immunological interfaces harboring diverse immune populations. Among them, B cells have emerged as dynamic participants in central nervous system (CNS) homeostasis and disorders. Recent studies have identified distinct B cell subsets in the meninges at different developmental and activation stages, including precursors supported by skull marrow-derived progenitors and immunoglobulin A (IgA)⁺ plasma cells influenced by gut microbiota. These meningeal B cells contribute to immune tolerance, barrier protection, and potentially neural development and repair, while also exhibiting context-dependent pathogenic roles in CNS autoimmunity, aging, and neurodegeneration. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge of meningeal B cells and highlight key future research directions aimed at understanding their cellular dynamics, activation and differentiation processes, and the balance between protective and deleterious functions.

• Publication year

  2026

• Venue

  Immunity

• Publication date

  2026-01-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.immuni.2026.01.013PMID 41619727
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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