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E. Shyam P. Reddy: The Immune Molecule That Rewires Your Brain – From Anxiety to Sociability

E. Shyam P. Reddy/LinkedIn

Apr 20, 2025, 11:03

E. Shyam P. Reddy: The Immune Molecule That Rewires Your Brain – From Anxiety to Sociability

E. Shyam P. Reddy, Professor and Director of Cancer Biology Program at Morehouse School of Medicine, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“A surprising link between the immune system and brain behavior is emerging, as new research reveals how a single immune molecule can affect both anxiety and sociability depending on which brain region it acts upon.

Scientists found that IL-17 behaves almost like a brain chemical, influencing neuron activity in ways that alter mood and behavior during illness. These findings suggest the immune system plays a much deeper role in shaping our mental states than previously thought, opening new doors for treating conditions like autism and anxiety through immune-based therapies.

Immune Molecules and Brain Behavior.

Immune molecules known as cytokines help the body fight off infections by controlling inflammation and guiding the activity of other immune cells. Increasing evidence now shows that some of these molecules also affect the brain, triggering changes in behavior during illness.

In two new studies from MIT and Harvard Medical School, scientists focused on a cytokine called IL-17. They discovered that IL-17 acts on two different parts of the brain, the amygdala and the somatosensory cortex, and has opposite effects in each. In the amygdala, IL-17 can cause anxiety, while in the cortex it encourages social behavior.

Beyond Physical Fatigue

These results highlight a strong connection between the immune system and the brain, says Gloria Choi, a senior author of the studies, an associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT, and a member of MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory.

“If you’re sick, there’s so many more things that are happening to your internal states, your mood, and your behavioral states, and that’s not simply you being fatigued physically. It has something to do with the brain,” she says.”

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