Cyclosporin A treatment modulates cytokine mRNA expression by inflammatory cells extracted from the spinal cord of rats with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis induced by inoculation with myelin basic protein

The Short and Long-Term Effects of Pregnancy on Multiple Sclerosis and Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

The role of pregnancy in multiple sclerosis (MS) is of importance because many patients with MS are young women in the childbearing age who require information to inform their reproductive decisions. Pregnancy is now well-known to be associated with fewer relapses of MS and reduced activity of autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). However, in women with multiple sclerosis, this benefit is not always sufficient to protect against a rebound of disease activity if disease-modulating therapy is ceased for pregnancy. There is concern that use of assisted reproductive therapies can be associated with relapses of MS, but more data are required. It is thought that the beneficial effects of pregnancy are due to the pregnancy-associated changes in the maternal immune system. There is some evidence of this in human studies and studies of EAE. There is also evidence that having been pregnant leads to better long-term outcome of MS. The mechanism for this is not fully understood but it could result from epigenetic changes resulting from pregnancy or parenthood. Further studies of the mechanisms of the beneficial effects of pregnancy could provide information that might be used to produce new therapies.

Novel pathomechanisms in inflammatory neuropathies

Inflammatory neuropathies are rare autoimmune-mediated disorders affecting the peripheral nervous system. Considerable progress has recently been made in understanding pathomechanisms of these disorders which will be essential for developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in the future. Here, we summarize our current understanding of antigenic targets and the relevance of new immunological concepts for inflammatory neuropathies. In addition, we provide an overview of available animal models of acute and chronic variants and how new diagnostic tools such as magnetic resonance imaging and novel therapeutic candidates will benefit patients with inflammatory neuropathies in the future. This review thus illustrates the gap between pre-clinical and clinical findings and aims to outline future directions of development.

Cyclosporine A regulates pro-inflammatory cytokine production in ulcerative colitis

Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are the two major forms of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which are defined as relapsing inflammations of the gastrointestinal tract. Cyclosporine A (CsA) is a potential rescue treatment to avoid colectomy in severe steroid-refractory UC patients. The molecular mechanism of action of CsA in UC is nevertheless still not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of CsA on a possible modulation of cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of controls and patients with UC or CD. Upon CsA treatment, analyses of cytokine levels revealed a significant reduction of IL-13 expression in PBMCs from patients with UC, whereas other cytokine expression levels remained unaffected. To address the question whether CsA treatment impinges on the induction of cell death, apoptosis assays were performed using CD4(+) T cells from peripheral blood of patients suffering from either UC or CD. It became clear that CsA treatment resulted in a specific induction of apoptosis in samples from controls and patients with UC but not with CD. Apoptosis induction was not mediated via the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. The present data support the concept that CsA treatment modulates pro-inflammatory cytokine production and T cell survival in UC via the induction of apoptosis and might therefore help to explain the clinical efficacy of CsA in patients with UC.

Quantitation of peripheral blood markers of rat experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Identification and quantitation of peripheral blood non-invasive, cell-surface markers of EAE disease activity and drug response would facilitate the preclinical development of potential therapeutics. Towards this end, we characterized the influx of immune mediators into spinal cords of diseased rats to establish the kinetics of T cell and monocyte-mediated inflammation. We then examined the periphery for regulation of T cell and monocyte activation. We report increased CD80 and VLA-4 expression on peripheral blood monocytes (PBM) during the onset and peak of experimental disease scores. Increased CD4+, CD62L - and CD4+, CD134+ T cells were detected only at disease peak, not during disease onset. PBM CD80 expression was significantly inhibited in CSA-treated animals, but increased in Dex-treated animals. PBM VLA-4 expression was unaffected by drug treatment. Both CSA and Dex inhibited CD62L shedding and CD134 expression on peripheral CD4+ T cells. These results identify quantitative, peripheral markers of disease activity and drug response.

Biliverdin protects against polymicrobial sepsis by modulating inflammatory mediators

Highly inducible heme oxygenase (HO)-1 is protective against acute and chronic inflammation. HO-1 generates carbon monoxide (CO), ferrous iron, and biliverdin. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of biliverdin against sepsis-induced inflammation and intestinal dysmotility. Cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) was performed on Sprague-Dawley rats under isoflurane anesthesia with and without intraperitoneal biliverdin injections, which were done before, at the time of CLP, and after CLP. In vivo gastrointestinal transit was carried out with fluorescein-labeled dextran. Jejunal circular muscle contractility was quantified in vitro using organ bath-generated bethanechol dose-response curves. Neutrophilic infiltration into the muscularis externa was quantified. The jejunal muscularis was studied for cytokine mRNA expressions [interleukin (IL)-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, biliverdin, IL-10, and HO-1] using real-time RT-PCR. Biliverdin treatment prevented the sepsis-induced suppression of gastrointestinal muscle contractility in vivo and in vitro and significantly decreased neutrophilic infiltration into the jejunal muscularis. Inflammatory mRNA expressions for small bowel IL-6 and MCP-1 were significantly reduced after biliverdin treatment in CLP-induced septic animals compared with untreated septic animals. The anti-inflammatory mediator expression of small bowel IL-10 was significantly augmented after CLP at 3 h compared with untreated septic animals. These findings demonstrate that biliverdin attenuates sepsis-induced morbidity to the intestine by selectively modulating the inflammatory cascade and its subsequent sequelae on intestinal muscularis function.

Rat pro-inflammatory cytokine and cytokine related mRNA quantification by real-time polymerase chain reaction using SYBR green

Background

Cytokine mRNA quantification is widely used to investigate cytokine profiles, particularly in small samples. Real-time polymerase chain reaction is currently the most reliable method of quantifying low-level transcripts such as cytokine and cytokine receptor mRNAs. This accurate technique allows the quantification of a larger pattern of cytokines than quantification at the protein level, which is limited to a smaller number of proteins.

Results

Although fluorogenic probes are considered more sensitive than fluorescent dyes, we have developed SYBR Green real-time RT-PCR protocols to assay pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL1a, IL1b and IL6, TNFa), cytokine receptors (IL1-r1, IL1-r2, IL6-r, TNF-r2) and related molecules (IL1-RA, SOCS3) mRNA in rats. This method enables normalisation against several housekeeping genes (beta-actin, GAPDH, CypA, HPRT) dependent on the specific experimental treatments and tissues using either standard curve, or comparative C_T quantification method. PCR efficiency and sensitivity allow the assessment of; i) basal mRNA levels in many tissues and even decreases in mRNA levels, ii) mRNA levels from very small samples.

Conclusion

Real-time RT-PCR is currently the best way to investigate cytokine networks. The investigations should be completed by the analysis of genes regulated by cytokines or involved in cytokine signalling, providing indirect information on cytokine protein expression.

A novel nitric oxide scavenger in combination with cyclosporine A ameliorates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis progression in mice

Immunotherapy improves experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model of multiple sclerosis (MS), while excessive production of nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of this disease. Here, we show that disease progression in SJL/J mice with EAE is improved after treatment with either a subtherapeutic dose of cyclosporine A (CsA) or NOX-100, a nitric oxide scavenger. Importantly, the impact of subtherapeutic doses of CsA in combination with NOX-100 on disease progression in EAE was greater than that attained with either agent alone and led to near total protection. CNS inflammation and gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines and iNOS were also significantly reduced after treatment. These observations point to the potential therapeutic utility of NOX-100 as a dose-reducing agent for CsA in the treatment of MS.