Hi,

 

I was wondering where the vaccines go once they actually get under the skin and into muscle tissue? Is it possible for vaccines to go into the spinal cord and into the CNS, and what effect would this have on a person? Thanks

It's unlikely - the blood-brain barrier generally keeps big things like large proteins out of the brain and CNS.

N/M got ninja posted by mokele

Hi,

 

I was wondering where the vaccines go once they actually get under the skin and into muscle tissue? Is it possible for vaccines to go into the spinal cord and into the CNS, and what effect would this have on a person? Thanks

 

The vaccine components diffuse into the intercellular liquid between cells, which drains into the lymphatic system. If the components are not picked up by dendritic cells in the tissue, they end up in the lymph nodes and/or the thymus. The flow of lymph does not carry things into the CNS, but ultimately drains into the thymus gland (which lies on top of your heart).

 

As pointed out by Mokele, the blood-brain barrier screens out just about everything protein-sized and larger. If you wanted vaccine components in the CNS, you would have to inject it directly into the spine or brain. You have microglial cells in the CNS that respond to antigens much the same way that macrophages do.

Thanks for the replies. IF any of the vaccine components made it into brain tissue would the CNS attempt to get it out by spinal fluid drainage, or by some of the veins or arteries supplying the brain? Not sure that makes total sense by just wondering if the CNS can drain large proteins or other unwanted toxins over time? Thanks

No, it is more likely that the foreign proteins would be engulfed and digested by the microglia (like macrophages).