In this review, we will summarize what is known regarding the development, specification, and maturation of the meninges during homeostatic conditions and discuss the rapidly emerging evidence that specific meningeal cell compartments play differential and important roles in the pathophysiology of a myriad of diseases including: multiple sclerosis, dementia, stroke, viral/bacterial meningitis, traumatic brain injury, and cancer. While the meninges were historically seen as a purely structural support for the CNS and protection from trauma, the emerging view of the meninges is as an essential interface between the CNS and the periphery, critical to brain development, required for brain homeostasis, and involved in a variety of diseases. Most proximate to the brain is the collagen and basement membrane-rich pia matter that abuts the glial limitans and has recently be shown to have regional heterogeneity within the developing mouse brain. Segregating the outer and inner meningeal compartments is the epithelial-like arachnoid barrier cells, connected by tight and adherens junctions, which regulate the movement of pathogens, molecules, and cells into and out of the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and brain parenchyma. The dural compartment of the meninges, closest to the skull, is predominantly composed of fibroblasts, but also includes fenestrated blood vasculature, an elaborate lymphatic system, as well as immune cells which are distinct from the CNS. The meninges are the fibrous covering of the central nervous system (CNS) which contain vastly heterogeneous cell types within its three layers (dura, arachnoid, and pia). 3Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, United States.2Cell Biology, Stem Cells and Development Graduate Program, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States. ![]() ![]() 1Section of Developmental Biology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, United States.Jones 1,2, Christina Como 1,3, Bradley Pawlikowski 1 and Julie A.
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