Capture, crawl, cross: the T cell code to breach the blood–brain barriers

The central nervous system (CNS) is an immunologically privileged site to which access of circulating immune cells is tightly controlled by the endothelial blood–brain barrier (BBB; see Glossary) localized in CNS microvessels, and the epithelial blood–cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB) within the choroid plexus. As a result of the specialized structure of the CNS barriers, immune cell entry into the CNS parenchyma involves two differently regulated steps: migration of immune cells across the BBB or BCSFB into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-drained spaces of the CNS, followed by progression across the glia limitans into the CNS parenchyma. With a focus on multiple sclerosis (MS) and its animal models, this review summarizes the distinct molecular mechanisms required for immune cell migration across the different CNS barriers.