Glia cells are an essential cell type in both the central and peripheral nervous systems. They have many important functions one of which includes eliciting and modulating immune and inflammatory responses in times of stress, such as after a stroke. During these times of stress, there is an increase in sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity, activating our fight or flight response. The SNS is also known to directly communicate with immune cells, through adrenergic signaling, to elicit a neuroimmune response. Neuroimmune responses are defined by direct communication, via neurotransmitters, between nerve and immune cells. We hypothesize that glia in the spleen (spleen glia) will be important in these responses. However, spleen glia have never before been studied so it is not yet known what their role is in the organ. Here we investigate spleen glia with the goal of describing their anatomy and developing tools to define their function. Using immunohistochemistry, we observed that spleen glia expresses two common glial genes (GFAP AND S100b). Furthermore, they associate with tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), expressing nerve fibers with > 99% concordance forming networks of cells and fibers around the vasculature. These networks have a preference to course along white pulp regions, the immunological area in the spleen. Ongoing future studies will define the functional role of spleen glia and mechanisms by which they communicate to nerves and immune cells through transcriptomics.
