Work

Cutting Edge: Central Nervous System Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells Regulate the Severity of Relapsing Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Year: 2008

Type: article

Abstract: Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) have both stimulatory and regulatory effects on T cells. pDCs are a major CNS-infiltrating dendritic cell population during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis but, unlike myeloid dendritic cells, have a minor role in T cell activation and epitope spreading. We show that depletion of pDCs during either the acute or relapse phases of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis resulted in exacerbation of disease severity. pDC depletion significantly enhanced CNS but not peripheral CD4(+) T cell activation, as well as IL-17 and IFN-gamma production. Moreover, CNS pDCs suppressed CNS myeloid dendritic cell-driven production of IL-17, IFN-gamma, and IL-10 in an IDO-independent manner. The data demonstrate that pDCs play a critical regulatory role in negatively regulating pathogenic CNS CD4(+) T cell responses, highlighting a new role for pDCs in inflammatory autoimmune disease.

Source: The Journal of Immunology

DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.180.10.6457

Authors: Samantha L Bailey-Bucktrout, Sarah C Caulkins, Gwendolyn Goings, Jens A A Fischer, Andrzej Dzionek, Stephen D Miller

Institutions: Northwestern University, Miltenyi Biotec (Germany)

Language: English

Topic: Multiple Sclerosis Research Studies

Subfield: Pathology and Forensic Medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: Northwestern University, University of Chicago, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke