Chemokine regulation of CNS T-cell infiltration in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

• Published in: Research in immunology (Paris) 1998-11, Vol.149 (9), p.790-794
• Main Authors: Hoffman, L.M., Karpus, W.J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Central Nervous System - immunology; Chemokines - immunology; Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental - immunology; Humans; T-Lymphocytes - immunology
• ISSN: 0923-2494
• DOI: 10.1016/S0923-2494(99)80006-6

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a CD4 super(+) Th1 lymphocyte-mediated, autoimmune demyelinating disease that is characterized by mononuclear cell infiltration of the central nervous system (CNS). The disease course presents either as acute monophasic or relapsing-remitting paralysis and is considered a model for human multiple sclerosis (MS). One of the hallmarks of the immunopathogenesis of EAE is the migration of both antigen-specific and non-specific T cells as well as monocytes/macrophages to the CNS. It is thought that antigen-specific T cells rapidly migrate to the CNS followed in time by antigen non-specific T cells and monocytes. This migration has been shown to be dependent, in part, on expression of integrins, including alpha sub(4) beta sub(1) (VLA-4) and alpha sub(L) beta sub(2) (LFA-1). We have recently demonstrated an importance for chemokines in the immunopathogenesis of disease. This has led us to propose that temporal and spatial chemokine expression in the CNS, in addition to integrin expression, results in the recruitment of lymphocytes and monocytes from the peripheral circulation to the CNS. In this scenario, infiltrating antigen-specific lymphocytes produce chemokines leading to further recruitment of mononuclear cells. We further propose that the antigen-specific T cells also produce inflammatory cytokines that activate parenchymal astrocytes to express chemokines resulting in the migration of mononuclear cells into the parenchyma which leads to demyelination. Thus, there appear to be multiple levels of molecular control that govern migration of lymphocytes into tissue sites.