IMMUNOLOGY2026™ Conference Recordings For Attendees-Peripheral immune signatures that orchestrate complex behavior

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Dr. Michael Wheeler presented work showing how peripheral immune signals shape behavior during chronic stress and depression. He described the brain as a mucosal-like tissue that both senses immune cues and sends signals back to the body. In stressed mice, chronic restraint stress increased fear-like behavior, raised inflammatory cytokines, and recruited inflammatory monocytes to the meninges. Transferring these monocytes worsened anxiety and fear, while depleting them reduced symptoms. His lab found that psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA reduced meningeal immune-cell recruitment and rescued behavior, likely through effects on vascular and tissue plasticity.<br /><br />Mechanistically, IL-1β from meningeal immune cells penetrated the stressed brain, activating astrocytes in the amygdala. Stress reduced astrocytic EGFR signaling, especially in the amygdala, and EGFR loss worsened fear behavior. Downstream, astrocytes influenced NR2F2-positive excitatory neurons that promoted fear via increased synaptic formation. Human depression samples showed similar EGFR loss. Wheeler also found psilocybin protected mice from DSS colitis, suggesting broader immune-modulating and tissue-repair effects.

Meta Tag

Date April 16, 2026 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM

Room 102

Session AAI ASPIRE Awards Symposium

Speaker Michael Wheeler

Track Lymphocyte Differentiation and Peripheral Maintenance (LYM)

Year 2026

Keywords

chronic stress

depression

meningeal immune cells

psilocybin

astrocyte EGFR signaling

inflammatory monocytes

April 16, 2026 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM

102

AAI ASPIRE Awards Symposium

Michael Wheeler

Lymphocyte Differentiation and Peripheral Maintenance (LYM)

2026