Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0014070 (encephalomyelitis)
 13,017 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We now have substantial evidence demonstrating noradrenergic sympathetic and peptidergic innervation of both primary and secondary lymphoid organs. We have established criteria for norepinephrine, and some of the neuropeptides, as neurotransmitters, and have found changes in immune responsiveness following pharmacological manipulation of noradrenergic sympathetic or peptidergic nerves. Classic receptor binding studies have demonstrated a wide variety of target cells that possess beta-adrenoceptors and receptors for neuropeptides on cells of the immune system, including lymphocyte subsets, macrophages, accessory cells, or stromal elements. In this chapter we describe noradrenergic and peptidergic innervation of primary and secondary lymphoid organs in development, at maturation and during the normal aging process, and discuss possible functional implications of direct neural signals onto cells of the immune system at critical time points in the lifespan of an animal. Further, we examine for involvement of noradrenergic sympathetic and peptidergic innervation in the development and progression of several autoimmune disorders, including adjuvant-induced arthritis, New Zealand mice strains as a model for hemolytic anemia and lupus-like syndrome, and the experimental allergic encephalomyelitis model for multiple sclerosis.
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PMID:Innervation of lymphoid organs and implications in development, aging, and autoimmunity. 131 62

SK&F 105.685 (N,N-dimethyl-8,8-dipropyl-2-azaspiro[4.5]decane-2-propanamine+ ++ dihydrochloride) is a novel azaspirane with beneficial activity in rat models of adjuvant-induced arthritis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis as well as in the murine lupus model. The mechanism of action in these models appears to be the induction of non-specific suppressor cell activity which is measured by the ability of cells from treated animals to partially inhibit the proliferative response of lymphocytes from control animals to concanavalin A (ConA) in a co-culture assay. In this study we have shown that oral administration of 0.1-3 mg/kg/day of SK&F 105.685 to purebred beagle dogs induced suppressor cell activity in the spleen and bone marrow but not in the peripheral blood. In vitro, SK&F 105.685 partially suppressed the proliferative response of dog splenocytes to the mitogens phytohemagglutinin (PHA), ConA and, to a lesser extent, pokeweed mitogen (PWM). Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) differed from spleen cells in their susceptibility to suppression by SK&F 105.685. While the PWM and ConA responses of PBLs and spleen cells showed similar levels of inhibition, the PHA response of PBLs, in marked contrast to spleen cells, was resistant to suppression by the compound. Our results show that the immunoregulatory effects of SK&F 105,685 are not limited to rodents and that suppressor cell activity in dogs is induced quickly and by relatively low doses of the compound.
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PMID:Induction of suppressor cell activity in vivo and suppression of lymphoproliferative responses in vitro by SK&F 105.685 in the dog. 153 91

The active vitamin D metabolite 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25-D3] is thought to promote many of its actions through interaction with a specific intracellular receptor. The discovery of such receptors in monocytes and activated lymphocytes has led investigators to evaluate the role of the hormone on the immune system. The sterol inhibits lymphocyte proliferation and immunoglobulin production in a dose-dependent fashion. At a molecular level, 1,25-D3 inhibits the accumulation of mRNA for IL-2, IFN-gamma, and GM-CSF. At a cellular level, the hormone interferes with T helper cell (Th) function, reducing Th-induction of immunoglobulin production by B cells and inhibiting the passive transfer of cellular immunity by Th-clones in vivo. The sterol promotes suppressor cell activity and inhibits the generation of cytotoxic and NK cells. Class II antigen expression on lymphocytes and monocytes is also affected by the hormone. When given in vivo, 1,25-D3 has been particularly effective in the prevention of autoimmune diseases such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and murine lupus but its efficacy has been limited by its hypercalcemic effect. Synthetic vitamin D3 analogues showing excellent 1,25-D3-receptor binding but less pronounced hypercalcemic effects in vivo have recently enhanced the immunosuppressive properties of the hormone in autoimmunity and transplantation.
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PMID:Immunomodulatory role of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. 164 50

SK&F 105685 (N,N-Dimethyl-8,8-dipropyl-2-azaspiro[4.5]decane-2-propanamine+ ++ dihydrochloride) is a novel azaspirane with beneficial activity in animal models of autoimmune diseases such as adjuvant-induced arthritis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in the Lewis rat and lupus-like disease in the MRL mouse. The effect of SK&F 105685 on the proliferation of rat lymphoid cells was examined in vitro. The compound inhibited the proliferative response of spleen, thymus and lymph node cells to the mitogen concanavalin A (Con A) in a dose-dependent manner but had little or no effect on the mitogenic response of peripheral blood lymphocytes. Although less potent than cyclosporin A, SK&F 105685 was able to inhibit the proliferation of spleen cells stimulated with PMA and ionomycin or the mitogens phytohemagglutinin (PHA), Con A and pokeweed mitogen (PWM). Relatively early event(s) in cell proliferation were affected by SK&F 105685 since delaying addition of the drug by 24 to 48 hours after Con A stimulation of rat spleen cells resulted in reduced levels of suppression. The mode of action of SK&F 105685 appeared to differ from that of cyclosporin A or rapamycin. Unlike cyclosporin A, SK&F 105685 did not affect IL-2 production by Con A-stimulated spleen cells or the IL-2-producing Jurkat cell line, but, like rapamycin, the compound significantly reduced the IL-2-induced proliferation of rat ConA blasts. These results suggest that inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation by SK&F 105685 may require the activity of an intermediate effector cell(s) present in susceptible populations such as cells from the spleen, thymus, lymph nodes and Con A blast preparations but absent or present in low numbers in resistant populations such as peripheral blood cells. Indomethacin and NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (NGMMA), a competitive inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, were both unable to relieve SK&F 105685-induced suppression of splenic Con A responses thereby ruling out a role for the production of prostaglandins or nitric oxide by macrophages as an intermediate in drug-mediated suppression. In summary, SK&F 105685 was unable to inhibit lymphoproliferative responses by a mechanism distinct from that of cyclosporin A or rapamycin and which appears to involve regulation of cellular interactions rather than a direct effect on responding lymphocytes.
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PMID:Inhibition of lymphoproliferative responses by SK&F 105685, a novel anti-arthritic agent. 166 43

In vivo therapy with monoclonal antibody (mAb) GK1.5, which recognizes a glycoprotein antigen designated L3T4 on murine helper T lymphocytes, either prevented or suppressed the development of murine lupus, autoimmune encephalomyelitis, and collagen arthritis. The L3T4 antigen in the mouse is analogous to the human Leu-3/T4 antigen expressed on helper T lymphocytes, because they both participate in the T cell response to class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens. Class II MHC genes and I-A antigens mediate murine experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) induced by acetylcholine receptor (AChR) autoimmunity. We studied the efficacy of mAb GK1.5 as an immunotherapeutic agent for murine EAMG. Therapy with mAb GK1.5 not only suppressed established autoimmunity to AChR but also prevented loss of muscle AChR in mice with EAMG. Moreover, permanent remission of clinical muscle weakness was induced if mAb GK1.5 therapy was initiated after the onset of clinical disease. Because the function of the Leu-3/T4 determinant on human helper T lymphocytes is analogous to the murine L3T4 determinant, use of antibody to the Leu-3/T4 determinant as an immunotherapeutic agent may provide a way to control the progression of human MG.
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PMID:Immunotherapy for myasthenia gravis: a murine model. 241 35

Allele-specific monoclonal anti-I-A antibodies are capable of specifically suppressing the immune response to antigens under the control of the allele towards which the antibody is directed, without suppressing the response to antigens under the control of the alternative allele of the I-A alpha and beta chain genes in an F1 heterozygote. This phenomenon, which has been termed 'allele-specific immunosuppression', is antigen-specific, long-lasting and transferrable with Thy-1-positive spleen cells. This type of immunosuppression has been applied to animal models of autoimmune disease, in both homozygous and heterozygous animal models. Anti-I-A monoclonal antibodies are capable of preventing, suppressing and treating experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), of partially suppressing experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis, and of preventing the onset of type I insulin-dependent diabetes in the BB/W diabetic rat. In addition, this type of immunotherapy has succeeded in almost completely suppressing nephritis in NZB X NZW F1 mice, which normally develop severe lupus-like nephritis. Significant toxicity, which may be due to anti-allotype antibodies, anti-idiotype antibodies, or to impurities in the monoclonal antibody preparations, has been encountered in the BB/W diabetic rat. In addition, attempts to extend these observations to EAE in the cynomolgus monkey have encountered significant mortality which appears to be attributable to the monoclonal antibody injections (anti-HLA-DR). The mechanism of this toxicity and means of circumventing it are currently under investigation. These results demonstrate the critical role of I-A molecules in the induction and continuance of the autoimmune process in these experimental animal models.
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PMID:Monoclonal anti-Ia antibody therapy in animal models of autoimmune disease. 331 1

A middle-aged woman had five discrete episodes of herpes zoster. The first attack consisted of uncomplicated herpes zoster ophthalmicus. The subsequent four episodes involved thoracic, cervical, and finally sacral dermatomes and were complicated by myelitis or encephalomyelitis. During the most recent attack, while she was receiving corticosteroids, varicella-zoster virus was cultured from the CSF. In addition, the patient had strong evidence of systemic lupus erythematosus, with a history of Raynaud's phenomenon, migratory arthralgia, and unexplained anemia before the first attack of zoster with subsequent development of a positive lupus cell preparation and elevated antinuclear antibody levels.
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PMID:Recurrent herpes zoster encephalitis. A complication of systemic lupus erythematosus. 625 12

Immunization with the multideterminant autoantigen myelin basic protein (MBP) causes experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), a T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease that serves as a model for multiple sclerosis (MS). MBP peptides Ac1-11 and p35-47 induce potent EAE in mice of the H-2u haplotype. T cells specific for Ac1-11 predominantly utilize one T-cell receptor (TCR) V beta gene segment, V beta 8.2. All T-cell clones and hybridomas analyzed, regardless of TCR V beta usage, utilize D beta 2 and J beta 2 elements. The NZW mouse strain (H-2z), which contributes to the spontaneous 'lupus-like' illness in (NZB x NZW)F1 mice, has a genomic deletion encompassing D beta 2 and J beta 2 gene segments. The NZW strain expresses class II (I-A and I-E) genes which share identical sequences with H-2u class II. We investigated whether these strains are susceptible to EAE induced with intact MBP and known encephalitogenic MBP peptides. In vitro analysis demonstrated that NZW antigen-presenting cells (APC) can present MBP and MBP peptide Ac1-11 to an encephalitogenic T-cell clone derived from an H-2u mouse, confirming the functional identity of NZW class-II (I-A) molecules with their respective H-2u class-II gene products. In vivo results demonstrated that NZW and (NZB x NZW)F1 mice are susceptible to EAE induced with intact MBP and Ac1-11. MBP p35-47 caused EAE in (NZB x NZW)F1 mice, which express alleles for both the normal (NZB) TCR beta-gene locus, and the abnormal (NZW) TCR beta-gene locus containing the J beta 2 deletion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:'Lupus-prone' mice are susceptible to organ-specific autoimmune disease, experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. 752 28

Allelic exclusion at the T cell receptor alpha locus TCR-alpha is incomplete, as demonstrated by the presence of a number of T lymphocyte clones carrying two expressed alpha chain products. Such dual alpha chain T cells have been proposed to play a role in autoimmunity, for example, because of a second TCR-alpha beta pair having bypassed negative selection by virtue of low expression. We examined this hypothesis by generating mice of various autoimmunity-prone strains carrying a hemizygous targeted disruption of the TCR-alpha locus, therefore unable to produce dual alpha chain T cells. Normal mice have a low but significant proportion of T cells expressing two cell-surface TCR-alpha chains that could be enumerated by comparison to TCR-alpha hemizygotes, which have none. Susceptibility to various autoimmune diseases was analyzed in TCR-alpha hemizygotes that had been backcrossed to disease-prone strains for several generations. The incidence of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis and of lupus is not affected by the absence of dual TCR-alpha cells. In contrast, nonobese diabetic (NOD) TCR alpha hemizygotes are significantly protected from cyclophosphamide-accelerated insulitis and diabetes. Thus, dual alpha T cells may play an important role in some but not all autoimmune diseases. Furthermore, since protected and susceptible NOD mice both show strong spontaneous responses to glutamic acid decarboxylase, responses to this antigen, if necessary for diabetetogenesis, are not sufficient.
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PMID:Dual T cell receptor alpha chain T cells in autoimmunity. 756 98

Linomide, a synthetic immunomodulator, increases natural killer (NK) activity and markedly activates several lymphocyte populations in both experimental animals and humans. It has been shown to ameliorate the autoimmune manifestations of lupus-like disease in MRL/lpr mice and the clinical and pathological signs of acute and chronic-relapsing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in SJL/J mice. We examined the effect of linomide (100 mg/kg/day; administered in drinking water) on rabbits and rats with experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG). Following immunization with Torpedo acetylcholine receptor (AChR), all control rabbits developed clinical signs of severe weakness and exhibited a decrement of muscle action potential upon repetitive stimulation. In contrast, mild signs of weakness appeared in only two of five linomide-treated rabbits, with EMG borderline positive in one of them. Booster immunization with Torpedo AChR induced severe relapse and death in two EAMG control rabbits, whereas the two linomide-treated animals remained free of myasthenic symptoms. The serum level of antibodies against both Torpedo and rat AChR were markedly suppressed in the linomide-treated animals. Similar inhibition of clinical signs of EAMG was observed in the EAMG rat model. Furthermore, the in vitro proliferative response of lymph node cells to Torpedo AChR and the purified protein derivative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was significantly lower in the linomide-treated EAMG rats than in the controls. Linomide may constitute a new immunomodulating agent for the treatment of myasthenia gravis.
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PMID:Immunomodulation of experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis with linomide. 782 69


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