Multiple sclerosis (MS) and its animal model, experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), are autoimmune disorders resulting in demyelination in the central nervous system (CNS). Pathologically, the blood-brain barrier becomes damaged, macrophages and T cells enter into the CNS, oligodendrocytes and myelin are destroyed, astrocytes and microglia undergo gliosis, and axons become transected. ...

Although generally thought of as a T cell-driven autoimmune disease, recent studies in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), the animal model of multiple sclerosis, suggest a significant role for innate immune mechanisms. To address the possibility that the complement system plays a central role in these diseases, we developed a transgenic mouse with astrocyte-targeted production of a ...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system of presumed autoimmune etiology. One of the best animal models of demyelinating diseases is experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), which can be induced in a variety of animals by injection of a target antigen such as myelin basic protein (MBP). The immune responses against the target amino acids caus...

T cell-mediated inflammation is considered to play a key role in the pathogenic mechanisms sustaining multiple sclerosis (MS). Caspase-1, formerly designated IL-1beta-converting enzyme, is crucially involved in immune-mediated inflammation because of its pivotal role in regulating the cellular export of IL-1beta and IL-18. We studied the role of caspase-1 in experimental autoimmune encephalomye...

Interferon-β (IFN-β) is widely used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS), and its efficacy was demonstrated in the setting of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS; however, IFN-β is not effective in treating all cases of MS. Here, we demonstrate that signaling by IFNAR (the shared receptor for IFN-α and IFN-β) on macrophages inhibits activation of Rac1 and the gene...

The dissociation between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and permanent disability in multiple sclerosis (MS), termed the clinicoradiological paradox, can primarily be attributed to the lack of specificity of conventional, relaxivity-based MRI measurements in detecting axonal damage, the primary pathological correlate of long-term impairment in MS. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has shown promi...

IFN-γ, the hallmark cytokine of Th1 cells, plays an important role in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis. Thus far, the role of IFN-γ in EAE has been largely studied through its effects on immune cells, whereas much less is known about its effects on CNS cells, especially in vivo. In this study, we dissected the in vivo effects and mechanisms ...

A negative correlation between the geographical distribution of autoimmune diseases and helminth infections has been largely associated in the last few years with a possible role for such type of parasites in the regulation of inflammatory diseases, suggesting new pathways for drug development. However, few helminth-derived immunomodulators have been tested in experimental autoimmune encephalom...

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). MS is characterized by an immune response directed against myelin sheath. This immune response results in demyelination, which leads to the clinical symptoms of MS. It is accepted that MS is mediated by T helper 1/ T helper 17 immune responses. However, the role of B cells and antibodies (Abs) ar...

A specific protein (antigen) given orally is a known method of introducing tolerance of immunological response to this antigen. This method has recently been reviewed by some authors as a possible tool in the treatment of autoaggressive diseases, such as multiple sclerosis. The experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) respected animal model for MS was used for the study. The aim of the stu...