€250,000 to boost research into the interaction between the vascular and immune systems in the newborn brain

Over the next three years, a research project led by the University of Coimbra (UC) will seek to gain new insights into the development of the newborn brain. Specifically, it will investigate the role of microglial cells - central nervous system cells crucial for the brain's immune defence - in developing and organising the brain's vascular network. The study is expected to provide a deeper understanding of phenomena that may affect the brain during the neonatal period, the first 28 days of life.

The project "Microglia–Endothelium Interaction in the Development of the Cerebrovascular System" will receive €250,000 from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the ERC-PT A-Projects programme — a funding line for national applications that received top evaluations and funding recommendations from the European Research Council (ERC), but were not awarded funding due to budget limitations.

During the transition from the intrauterine environment to the outside world, "the neonatal brain undergoes a period of intense adaptation and is particularly vulnerable to influences that can have long-lasting effects throughout life," explains Vanessa Coelho-Santos, project leader and researcher at the Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT) of the Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra.

Understanding the first days of life, particularly how the brain's vascular and immune systems interact, is key to identifying changes that may affect the brain. Coelho-Santos points out that in her field of research, which focuses on neonatal cerebrovascular development, little is known about endothelial cells — the building blocks of blood vessels. The University of Coimbra researcher seeks to understand “how these cells organise to form the brain’s capillary network, and how the brain’s immune cells contribute to this process during this critical period of neonatal development.”

By confirming the role of microglia - which serve to "monitor and defend" the brain's environment - in organising the brain's vascular network, "we may change our understanding of how brain vessels are formed and how neuroimmune responses - such as those following infection or brain injury - shape the cerebral capillary network and consequently influence brain development," says Coelho-Santos. "I believe this research can help us identify key processes, knowledge that could one day contribute to the treatment of brain disorders in newborns," she adds.

This preclinical study will run until March 2028. Coelho-Santos, along with a team to be recruited with the support of this funding, will conduct the research using mice. Real-time brain imaging will be carried out using multiphoton microscopy. This advanced imaging technique captures high-resolution images over time and is essential for studying the brain’s highly dynamic systems.

^{Translation: Diana Taborda [DCM-UC]}