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)

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a large family of Zn2+ endopeptidases that are expressed in inflammatory conditions and are capable of degrading connective tissue macromolecules. MMP-like enzymes are also involved in the processing of a variety of cell surface molecules including the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha. MMPs and TNF-alpha have both been implicated in the pathology associated with neuro-inflammatory diseases (NIDs), particularly multiple sclerosis (MS) and its animal model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). We have shown that BB-1101, a broad spectrum hydroxamic acid-based combined inhibitor of MMP activity and TNF processing, reduces the clinical signs and weight loss in an acute EAE model in Lewis rats. However, little is known about which MMPs are involved in the neuroinflammatory process. In order to determine the optimum inhibitory profile for an MMP inhibitor in the treatment of NID, we investigated the profile of MMP expression and activity during EAE. The development of disease symptoms was associated with a 3-fold increase in MMP activity in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which could be inhibited by treatment with BB-1101, and an increase in 92 kDa gelatinase activity detected by gelatin substrate zymography. Quantitative PCR analysis of normal and EAE spinal cord revealed the expression of at least seven MMPs. Of these, matrilysin showed the most significant change, being elevated over 500 fold with onset of clinical symptoms and peaking at maximum disease severity. Of the other six MMPs detected, 92 kDa gelatinase showed a modest 5 fold increase which peaked at the onset of clinical signs and then declined during the most severe phase of the disease. Matrilysin was localised by immunohistochemistry to the invading macrophages within the inflammatory lesions of the spinal cord. Matrilysin's potent broad spectrum proteolytic activity and its localisation to inflammatory lesions in the CNS suggest this enzyme could be particularly involved in the pathological processes associated with neuro-inflammatory disease.
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PMID:Matrix metalloproteinase expression during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and effects of a combined matrix metalloproteinase and tumour necrosis factor-alpha inhibitor. 911 83

Recently, we demonstrated that experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in the rat, passively transferred using myelin basic protein (MBP)-reactive encephalitogenic CD4+ T cells, was preventable by administration of a p55-tumor necrosis factor-IgG fusion protein (TNFR-IgG). This was despite quantitatively and qualitatively normal movement of these MBP-specific T cells to the central nervous system (CNS). To extend these findings, the effect of TNFR-IgG on EAE actively induced by injection of MBP in complete Freund's adjuvant was examined. This form of EAE in the rat typically involves an acute, self-limiting neurological deficit, substantial CNS inflammation, but minimal demyelination. Here we show that administration of TNFR-IgG prior to onset of disease signs completely prevented the neurological deficit or markedly reduced its severity. This blockade of clinical disease was dissociated from weight loss which occurred at the same tempo and magnitude as in control rats exhibiting neurological signs of disease such as paralysis. The timing of TNF blockade was critical as established clinical disease was relatively refractory to TNFR-IgG treatment. Activated CD4+ T cells expressing normal or elevated levels of VLA4, major histocompatibility complex class II, MRC OX40 and CD25 were isolated from or immunohistochemically localized in the CNS of clinically healthy rats treated before disease onset. There was a reduction of the amount of other inflammatory leukocytes in the CNS of these treated animals but, more importantly, the activation state of inflammatory leukocytes, as well as that of microglia isolated from treated animals, was reduced. Thus, TNFR-IgG, when administered before disease onset, appears to act by inhibiting an effector function of activated T cells and possibly other inflammatory leukocytes necessary to bring about the neurological deficit. However, while TNF is a critically important cytokine for the early events leading to initiation of EAE, it is not a necessary factor in the acute neurological deficit characteristic of this form of EAE, once disease onset has occurred.
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PMID:Tumor necrosis factor blockade in actively induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis prevents clinical disease despite activated T cell infiltration to the central nervous system. 929 34

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model for multiple sclerosis (MS), is a demyelinating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS). The proinflammatory cytokine TNF alpha, as an endogenous mediator of inflammation, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of EAE disease. In this study, we demonstrate the presence of TNF alpha in spinal cord of Lewis rats, during the critical phase of EAE. The expression of TNF alpha is observed mainly in the gray matter of thoracic and lumbar levels of the spinal cord, in the motoneurons and interneurons of the ventral horn. Surprisingly, one month after recovery, we still found an intense TNF alpha-neuronal expression, including in the cervical region, and this positivity lasted up to 40 days after recovery, with, however, a decrease in its intensity. These results suggest that central neurons respond directly to massive infiltration of lymphocytes and macrophages after the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), by producing TNF alpha cytokine. In addition, neuronal-TNF alpha detection in the recovery stage of EAE may suggest a role other than its classical action in promoting inflammatory processes.
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PMID:Expression of TNF alpha in central neurons of Lewis rat spinal cord after EAE induction. 930 80

Secreted and cell surface molecules that control the nature of immune responses or directly mediate tissue damage are important targets for therapeutic intervention of autoimmune inflammatory disorders. The precise aetiology of multiple sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system is unknown and therapeutic interventions for this disease are limited. However, as it is believed that MS is autoimmune in nature, it seems likely that targeting of the immune system, either to deviate it down a more benign pathway or to directly block tissue damaging effector mechanisms, may enable this disease to be controlled. In this overview we examine three alternative approaches to therapy of MS: cytokine-directed immune deviation, immunoregulation by type I interferons and blockade of TNF. Underlying rationales for the application of these approaches to the treatment of MS are based largely on studies in the disease model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. These studies are reviewed.
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PMID:Cytokine-directed therapies in multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. 955 78

Immunomodulation of an ongoing autoimmune disease can be achieved by inhibitory cytokines or cytokine inhibitors such as TNF antagonists, delivery by gene therapy. The aim of this study was to design and test plasmid and retrovirus vectors expressing the mouse IFN beta gene and a chimeric protein containing the extracellular domain of human p55 TNF receptor linked to a murine Ig. These vectors were transiently expressed in COS-7 cells and permanently in amphotropic packaging cell lines or ABH mouse immortalized fibroblasts. Expression levels were assessed by ELISA. Western blotting and biological activity. In order to achieve tissue-specific expression in the CNS, the IFN beta gene was cloned and expressed under the control of the rat NSE promoter. We evaluated these constructs by direct intracranial injections of DNA-liposome complexes during the induction phase of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, a murine model of multiple sclerosis, with therapeutic benefit.
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PMID:Cloning and expression of murine IFN beta and a TNF antagonist for gene therapy of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. 957 46

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system with many similarities to multiple sclerosis. The main effector cells involved are CD4+ T cells, recognizing encephalitogenic epitopes within the central nervous system, and macrophages, both of which secrete proinflammatory cytokines, such as IFN-gamma and TNF. Studies have shown that immunomodulation of this inflammatory response by anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, IFN-beta, and TGF-beta) can reduce clinical severity in EAE. The importance of TNF in EAE has been demonstrated by using soluble TNF-receptor molecules to inhibit EAE. However, the limitation of this type of therapy is the necessity for frequent administration of cytokine proteins due to their short biologic half-life. This study demonstrates that EAE can be inhibited by a single injection of therapeutic cytokine (IL-4, IFN-beta, and TGF-beta) DNA-cationic liposome complex directly into the central nervous system. DNA coding for a novel, dimeric form of human p75 TNF receptor also ameliorated clinical EAE. Local administration of DNA-cationic liposome complex has identified gene targets that may be more efficiently exploited using vectors producing more stable expression for effective treatment of neuroimmunologic disease.
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PMID:Cytokine gene therapy in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis by injection of plasmid DNA-cationic liposome complex into the central nervous system. 959 Feb 71

In experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model for multiple sclerosis, we showed previously that depletion of gammadelta T cells using the mAb GL3 immediately before disease onset, or during the chronic phase, significantly ameliorated clinical severity. We now report on the effect of gammadelta T cell depletion on expression of five cytokine genes, IL-1, IL-6, TNF, lymphotoxin, and IFN-gamma in spinal cords of mice during the pre-onset, onset, height, and recovery phases of EAE, and on expression of type II nitric oxide synthase. In control animals, the mRNAs for IL-1 and IL-6 rose dramatically at disease onset and peaked before disease height, whereas the mRNAs for TNF, lymphotoxin, and IFN-gamma rose more slowly and peaked with peak of disease. In GL3-treated animals, a dramatic reduction in all five cytokines was noted at disease onset, but only IFN-gamma remained significantly reduced at a time point equivalent to height of disease in control animals. ELISA data confirmed the reduced levels of IL-1 and IL-6 at disease onset in GL3-treated animals, and pathologic analysis demonstrated a marked reduction in meningeal infiltrates at the same time point. Studies of type II NOS also demonstrated a significant reduction in both mRNA and protein expression at the height of disease in GL3-treated animals. These results suggest that gammadelta T cells contribute to the pathogenesis of EAE by regulating the influx of inflammatory cells into the spinal cord and by augmenting the proinflammatory cytokine profile of the inflammatory infiltrates.
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PMID:The effect of gammadelta T cell depletion on cytokine gene expression in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. 963 9

The effect of a novel TNF binding protein (TNFbp), a polyethylene glycol-linked form of the type I soluble receptor of TNF, on the expression of adhesion molecules has been investigated with a passive transfer model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in SJL/J mice. The expression of L-selectin, VLA-4 and LFA-1 on spleen cells of EAE animals treated with TNFbp or saline was examined by FACS analysis. The expression of VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 was investigated by immunochemistry in spinal cord tissue of SJL/J mice with EAE. In animals sensitized for EAE and treated with TNFbp, the expression of VCAM-1 in the central nervous system as well as VLA-4 on spleen cells was clearly diminished. Reduction in VCAM-1 staining and VLA-4 expression corresponded to inhibition of inflammation in the spinal cord and to prevention of clinical signs of EAE. The results have also shown that myelin basic protein responses as well as non-antigen-specific responses were not diminished in animals treated with TNFbp. The findings suggest that TNFbp might prevent EAE development by modulating the expression of VCAM-1 and VLA-4.
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PMID:Suppression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis with a TNF binding protein (TNFbp) correlates with down-regulation of VCAM-1/VLA-4. 964 85

The proinflammatory Th1 cytokine, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha), the cell death signaling molecule FasL, and several extracellular matrix degrading metalloproteinases have been implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). The latter enzymes, as well as TNF alpha-converting enzyme and FasL-converting enzyme, can be blocked by matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors (MMPIs). In this study, we show that a potent MMPI was clinically effective in an animal model for MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in the SJL/J mouse. Efficacy was remarkable, as indicated by blocking and reversal of acute disease and reduced number of relapses and diminished mean cumulative disease score in chronic relapsing animals. Also, demyelination and glial scarring were significantly decreased in MMPI-treated mice with chronic relapsing EAE, as was central nervous system gene expression for TNF alpha and fasL. It is interesting that expression of the beneficial cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4) was increased, and IL-4 was expressed on glial cells. The relevance of these compounds for MS was underscored by their ability to specifically inhibit TNF alpha shedding and cytotoxicity of myelin-autoreactive human cytotoxic CD4+ T-cell clones. This is the first report to show a positive effect by MMPIs on chronic relapsing EAE, its central nervous system cytokine profile, and on TNF alpha shedding by human myelin-autoreactive T cells.
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PMID:Effective treatment of models of multiple sclerosis by matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors. 966 91

In the present study, we examined the therapeutic effects of T-614 (3-formylamino-7-methylsulfonylaminoxy-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one), a new anti-rheumatic drug, on a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). T-614 dose-dependently suppressed the development of active EAE induced in Lewis rats by immunization with myelin basic protein (MBP) when administered for 2 weeks starting on the day of immunization (day 0 to 14). Amelioration of clinical signs was also obtained by the treatment at the effector phase (day 7 to 14) of the disease. Furthermore, T-614 treatment of recipient rats that had received MBP-sensitized lymphoid cells resulted in suppression of the clinical severity of EAE. Immunohistological examination revealed that the number of TCR alpha beta-expressing T cells and the extent of MHC class II expression in the spinal cord of rats treated with T-614 was markedly reduced. In vitro study using MBP-specific T cells showed that the addition of T-614 inhibited the proliferative responses of T cells and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-gamma, IL-6 and TNF produced by T and accessory cells. Taken together, these findings imply that T-614 suppresses the development of EAE by inhibiting the proliferation of autoreactive T cells and pro-inflammatory cytokine production not only by T cells but also by macrophages/microglia. This may be attributable to the result that T-614 is more effective at the effector phase rather than the induction phase. Thus, this drug has a potential value for the treatment of various T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS) as well as rheumatoid arthritis.
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PMID:A new anti-rheumatic drug, T-614, effectively suppresses the development of autoimmune encephalomyelitis. 972 23


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