Cure Alzheimer's Fund Cure Alzheimer's Fund

Jonathan Kipnis, Ph.D.

BJC Investigator; Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Immunology; Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience and Neurosurgery; Director, Center for Brain Immunology and Glia (BIG); Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Dr. Jonathan (Jony) Kipnis’s research group focuses on the complex interactions between the immune system and the central nervous system (CNS). The goal is to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these interactions in neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, and mental disorders as well as in physiology (including healthy aging).

Kipnis’s research team showed that the brain function is dependent, in part, on the function and integrity of the immune system and that immune molecules (cytokines) can play neuromodulatory roles. The fascination with immunity and its role in neurophysiology is what brought the team to a breakthrough discovery of meningeal lymphatic vessels that drain the CNS into the peripheral lymph nodes and thus serve as a physical connection between the brain and the immune system. This finding challenged the prevailing dogma of CNS being an “immune privileged organ” and opened new avenues to mechanistically study the nature of neuroimmune interactions under physiological and pathological conditions. The implications of this work are broad and range from Autism to Alzheimer’s disease through neuroinflammatory conditions, such as Multiple Sclerosis.

Dr. Kipnis graduated from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, where he was a Sir Charles Clore scholar and a recipient of distinguished prize for scientific achievements awarded by the Israeli Parliament, The Knesset. In 2018 he received a prestigious NIH Director’s Pioneer award to explore in more depth neuro-immune interactions in healthy and diseased brain.

To learn more, visit the Kipnis Lab Website.

Follow Dr. Kipnis @jonykipnis, his lab @kipnislab and center @BIG_CenterWashU

 

 

Related Research:

Brain Entry and Exit Consortium: Meningeal Mast Cell Control of Cerebrospinal Fluid Dynamics in Homeostasis and Alzheimer’s Disease Jonathan Kipnis 2024-04-30 Contribution of Skull Bone Marrow-Derived Cells to Alzheimer’s Disease Jonathan Kipnis 2023-12-08 Brain Entry and Exit Consortium: Crosstalk of Central Nervous System Barriers and Clearance Routes in Homeostasis and Alzheimer’s Disease Jonathan Kipnis 2022-05-03 Contribution of Skull Bone Marrow-Derived Cells to Alzheimer’s Disease Jonathan Kipnis 2022-02-14 Berg Brain Entry and Exit Consortium: Crosstalk of Central Nervous System Barriers and Clearance Routes in Homeostasis and Alzheimer’s Disease Jonathan Kipnis 2019-12-17 The Role of Meningeal Lymphatics in Cleansing the Brain: Implications for Alzheimer’s Disease Jonathan Kipnis 2016-07-05

Funded Research

These projects were made possible from Cure Alzheimer's Fund support.

Project Description Researchers Funding
Brain Entry and Exit Consortium: Meningeal Mast Cell Control of Cerebrospinal Fluid Dynamics in Homeostasis and Alzheimer’s Disease 2024

$345,000
Contribution of Skull Bone Marrow-Derived Cells to Alzheimer’s Disease 2023, 2024

$402,500
Brain Entry and Exit Consortium: Crosstalk of Central Nervous System Barriers and Clearance Routes in Homeostasis and Alzheimer’s Disease 2022, 2023

$690,000
Contribution of Skull Bone Marrow-Derived Cells to Alzheimer’s Disease 2021, 2022

$345,000
Berg Brain Entry and Exit Consortium: Crosstalk of Central Nervous System Barriers and Clearance Routes in Homeostasis and Alzheimer’s Disease 2019, 2021

$595,000
The Role of Meningeal Lymphatics in Cleansing the Brain: Implications for Alzheimer’s Disease 2016, 2017

$300,000

Selected Publications

These published papers resulted from Cure Alzheimer’s Fund support.

Kim, M. W., & Kipnis, J. Glymphatics and meningeal lymphatics unlock the brain-immune code, Immunity, May 4, 2025, Read More

Smyth, L. C. D., & Kipnis, J. Redefining CNS immune privilege, Nature Reviews. Immunology, May 2, 2025, Read More

Smyth, L. C. D., Plog, B. A., & Kipnis, J. Rest and rinse: sleeping rhythms drive brain detox, Trends in Immunology, February 28, 2025, Read More

Papadopoulos, Z., Smyth, L. C. D., Smirnov, I., Gibson, D. A., Herz, J., & Kipnis, J. Differential impact of lymphatic outflow pathways on cerebrospinal fluid homeostasis, Journal of Experimental Medicine, January 8, 2025, Read More

Jiang-Xie, L. F., Drieu, A., & Kipnis, J. Waste clearance shapes aging brain health, Neuron, January 8, 2025, Read More

Heneka, M. T., van der Flier, W. M., Jessen, F., Hoozemanns, J., Thal, D. R., Boche, D., Brosseron, F., Teunissen, C., Zetterberg, H., ... Cruchaga, C., ... Glass C. K., ... Butovsky, O., ... Grutzendler, J., … Baker, D. J., Liddelow, S. A., ... Kipnis, J., ... Colonna, M., ... Riechers, S. P. Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer disease, Nature Reviews Immunology, December 9, 2024, Read More

Jiang-Xie, L. F., Drieu, A., & Kipnis, J. Waste clearance shapes aging brain health, Neuron, October 11, 2024, Read More

Boskovic, P., Gao, W., & Kipnis, J. Will cellular immunotherapies end neurodegenerative diseases?, Trends in Immunology, April 9, 2024, Read More

Smyth, L. C. D., Xu, D., Okar, S. V., Dykstra, T., Rustenhoven, J., Papadopoulos, Z., … Kipnis, J. Identification of direct connections between the dura and the brain, Nature, February 7, 2024, Read More

Rustenhoven, J., Pavlou, G., Storck, S. E., Dykstra, T., Du, S., Wan, Z., Quintero, D., Scallan, J. P., Smirnov, I., Kamm, R. D., & Kipnis, J. Age-related alterations in meningeal immunity drive impaired CNS lymphatic drainage, Journal of Experimental Medicine, April 7, 2023, Read More

Drieu, A., Du, S., Storck, S. E., Rustenhoven, J., Papadopoulos, Z., Dykstra, T., Zhong, F., Kim, K., Blackburn, S., Mamuladze, T., Harari, O., Karch, C. M., Bateman, R. J., Perrin, R., Farlow, M., Chhatwal, J., Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network, Hu, S., Randolph, G. J., Smirnov, I., … Kipnis, J. Parenchymal border macrophages regulate the flow dynamics of the cerebrospinal fluid, Nature, November 9, 2022, Read More

Mazzitelli, J. A., Pulous, F. E., Smyth, L. C. D., Kaya, Z., Rustenhoven, J., Moskowitz, M. A., Kipnis, J., & Nahrendorf, M. Skull bone marrow channels as immune gateways to the central nervous system, Nature Neuroscience, November 23, 2023, Read More

Da Mesquita, S., Herz, J., Wall, M., Dykstra, T., de Lima, K. A., Norris, G. T., Dabhi, N., Kennedy, T., Baker, W., & Kipnis, J. Aging-associated deficit in CCR7 is linked to worsened glymphatic function, cognition, neuroinflammation, and β-amyloid pathology, Scientific Advances, May 21, 2021, Read More

Da Mesquita, S., Fu, Z., & Kipnis, J. The meningeal lymphatic system: a new player in neurophysiology, Neuron, October 24, 2018, Read More

Louveau, A., Da Mesquita, S., & Kipnis, J. Lymphatics in Neurological Disorders: a neuro-lympho-vascular component of multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease?, Neuron, September 7, 2016, Read More

Mazzitelli, J. A., Smyth, L. C. D., Cross, K. A., Dykstra, T., Sun, J., Du, S., Mamuladze, T., Smirnov, I., Rustenhoven, J., & Kipnis, J. Cerebrospinal fluid regulates skull bone marrow niches via direct access through dural channels, Nature Neuroscience, March 17, 2022, Read More

Da Mesquita, S., Louveau, A., Vaccari, A., Smirnov, I., Cornelison, R. C., Kingsmore, K. M., Contarino, C., Onengut-Gumuscu, S., Farber, E., Raper, D., Viar, K. E., Powell, R. D., Baker, W., Dabhi, N., Bai, R., Cao, R., Hu, S., Rich, S. S., Munson, J. M., Lopes, M. B., … Kipnis, J. Functional aspects of meningeal lymphatics in ageing and Alzheimer’s disease, Nature, July 25, 2018, Read More

Norris, G. T., & Kipnis, J. Immune Cells and CNS physiology: microglia and beyond, Journal of Experimental Medicine, November 30, 2018, Read More

Rustenhoven, J., Tanumihardja, C., & Kipnis, J. Cerebrovascular Anomalies: Perspectives From Immunology and Cerebrospinal Fluid Flow, Circulation Research, June 25, 2021, Read More

Rustenhoven, J., Drieu, A., Mamuladze, T., de Lima, K. A., Dykstra, T., Wall, M., Papadopoulos, Z., Kanamori, M., Salvador, A. F., Baker, W., Lemieux, M., Da Mesquita, S., Cugurra, A., Fitzpatrick, J., Sviben, S., Kossina, R., Bayguinov, P., Townsend, R. R., Zhang, Q., Erdmann-Gilmore, P., … Kipnis, J. Functional characterization of the dural sinuses as a neuroimmune interface, Cell, January 27, 2021, Read More

Chen, X., Firulyova, M., Manis, M., Herz, J., Smirnov, I., Aladyeva, E., Wang, C., Bao, X., Finn, M. B., Hu, H., Shchukina, I., Kim, M. W., Yuede, C. M., Kipnis, J., Artyomov, M. N., Ulrich, J. D., & Holtzman, D. M. Microglia-mediated T cell infiltration drives neurodegeneration in tauopathy, Nature, March 8, 2023, Read More

Da Mesquita, S., Papadopoulos, Z., Dykstra, T., Brase, L., Farias, F. G., Wall, M., Jiang, H., Kodira, C. D., de Lima, K. A., Herz, J., Louveau, A., Goldman, D. H., Salvador, A. F., Onengut-Gumuscu, S., Farber, E., Dabhi, N., Kennedy, T., Milam, M. G., Baker, W., Smirnov, I., Rich, S. S., Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network, Benitez, B. A., Karch, C. M., Perrin, R. J., Farlow, M., Chhatwal, J. P., Holtzman, D. M., Cruchaga, C., Harari, O., & Kipnis, J. Meningeal lymphatics affect microglia responses and anti-Aβ immunotherapy, Nature, April 28, 2021, Read More

Drieu, A., Du, S., Kipnis, M., Bosch, M. E., Herz, J., Lee, C., Jiang, H., Manis, M., Ulrich, J. D., Kipnis, J., Holtzman, D. M., & Gratuze, M. Parenchymal border macrophages regulate tau pathology and tau-mediated neurodegeneration, Life Science Alliance, August 10, 2023, Read More

Ozturk, B., Koundal, S., Al Bizri, E., Chen, X., Gursky, Z. H., Dai, F., Lim, A. S., Heerdt, P., Kipnis, J., Tannenbaum, A., Lee, H., & Benveniste, H. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) increases CSF flow and glymphatic transport, JCI Insight, May 9, 2023, Read More

Paolicelli, R. C., Sierra, A., Stevens, B., et al. Microglia states and nomenclature: A field at its crossroads, Neuron, November 2, 2022, Read More

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