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)

The selective apoptotic elimination of autoreactive T cells in the central nervous system (CNS) contributes to the resolution of inflammation and the spontaneous clinical recovery from experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). To assess the molecular mechanisms involved in this process, we used three-colour flow cytometry to examine the expression of apoptosis-regulating proteins by inflammatory cells isolated from the spinal cords of Lewis rats immunized with myelin basic protein (MBP) and complete Freund's adjuvant. Throughout the course of the disease, which peaked 12-14 days after inoculation and was followed by clinical recovery, we analyzed the DNA content of the spinal cord inflammatory cells to assess apoptosis and, simultaneously, we measured the expression of five proteins (Fas, Fas ligand (Fas-L), Bcl-2, Bcl-x and Bax) which modulate the apoptotic process. Cells expressing the death effector molecules Fas and Fas-L were particularly prone to undergo apoptosis, and were over-represented in the apoptotic population. Of the cells expressing the cell death inhibitor Bcl-2, a low proportion were undergoing apoptosis compared to the proportion of the total inflammatory cell population undergoing apoptosis, indicating that expression of Bcl-2 protects against T cell apoptosis in this disease. There was no evidence, however, that the apoptotic regulators Bcl-x and Bax influenced the susceptibility to apoptosis. We also found that Vbeta8.2+ T cells, which constitute the predominant encephalitogenic MBP-reactive T cell population in the Lewis rat, have a high frequency of Fas and Fas-L expression compared to other inflammatory cells. This would account for the previously demonstrated susceptibility of Vbeta8.2+ T cells to apoptosis in the CNS in EAE. These findings support the hypothesis that autoreactive T cells are eliminated from the CNS during spontaneous recovery from EAE by activation-induced apoptosis involving the Fas pathway.
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PMID:The roles of Fas, Fas ligand and Bcl-2 in T cell apoptosis in the central nervous system in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. 952 45

The Fas and FasL apoptotic pathway was investigated by protein immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, and reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis to assess whether it is involved in the elimination of target and/or effector cells from the central nervous system (CNS) during adoptively transferred chronic relapsing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model for multiple sclerosis. In addition to Fas and FasL, we studied Bax, an intracellular protein of the apoptotic cascade, the Bax antagonist and anti-apoptotic molecule Bcl-2, and DNA fragmentation, the final step in the apoptotic pathway. Infiltrating CD4+ T cells and parenchymal microglia expressed Fas, FasL, and Bax, and about half of these cells showed DNA fragmentation, a combination indicative of ongoing apoptosis. Using flow cytometry and reverse transcriptase-PCR, a positive correlation was seen between disease activity and up-regulation of the Fas system; in fact, Fas and FasL were expressed at low levels at the onset of EAE and increased at the height of disease to involve about one-third of all infiltrating lymphocytes. In the normal CNS, Fas immunoreactivity was constitutively present at low levels on oligodendrocytes and was up-regulated in the CNS during the course of EAE. However, oligodendrocytes showed no Bax reactivity or DNA fragmentation and expressed high levels of Bcl-2, as did the majority of infiltrating CD3+ cells, a pattern inconsistent with apoptosis. Thus, while molecules of the apoptotic cascade are well represented in the CNS during EAE, their expression correlates with elimination of infiltrating cells and microglia, not the myelinating cell, the oligodendrocyte.
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PMID:Cell death during autoimmune demyelination: effector but not target cells are eliminated by apoptosis. 954 18

Morphological studies have shown that macrophages and microglia undergo apoptosis in the central nervous system (CNS) in acute experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in the Lewis rat. To assess the relative levels of macrophage and microglial apoptosis, and the molecular mechanisms involved in this process, we used three-colour flow cytometry to identify CD45lowCD11b/c+ microglial cells and CD45highCD11b/c+ macrophages in the inflammatory cells isolated from the spinal cords of Lewis rats 13 days after immunization with myelin basic protein (MBP) and complete Freund's adjuvant. Simultaneously, we analyzed the DNA content of these cell populations to assess the proportions of cells undergoing apoptosis and in different stages of the cell cycle or examined their expression of three apoptosis-regulating proteins, i.e. Fas (CD95), Fas ligand (FasL) and Bcl-2. Microglia were highly vulnerable to apoptosis and were over-represented in the apoptotic population. Macrophages were less susceptible to apoptosis than microglia and underwent mitosis more frequently than microglia. The different susceptibilities of microglia and macrophages to apoptosis did not appear to be due to variations in Fas, FasL or Bcl-2 expression, as the proportions of microglia and macrophages expressing these proteins were similar, and were relatively high. Furthermore, in contrast to T cell apoptosis, apoptosis of microglia/macrophages did not occur more frequently in cells expressing Fas or FasL, or less frequently in cells expressing Bcl-2. These results indicate that the apoptosis of microglia and CNS macrophages in EAE is not mediated through the Fas pathway, and that Bcl-2 expression does not protect them from apoptosis. Expression of FasL by macrophages and microglia may contribute to the pathogenesis and immunoregulation of EAE through interactions with Fas+ oligodendrocytes and Fas+ T cells. The high level of microglial apoptosis in EAE indicates that microglial apoptosis may be an important homeostatic mechanism for controlling the number of microglia in the CNS following microglial activation and proliferation.
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PMID:Microglia are more susceptible than macrophages to apoptosis in the central nervous system in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis through a mechanism not involving Fas (CD95). 970 Oct 31

Infection of susceptible mouse strains with BeAn, a less virulent strain of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV), results in immune system-mediated demyelinating lesions in the central nervous system (CNS) similar to those in multiple sclerosis. Since macrophages appear to carry the major detectable antigen burden in vivo, and purification of sufficient cell numbers from the CNS for detailed analysis is difficult, macrophage-like cell lines provide an accessible system with which to study virus-macrophage interactions. The myeloid precursor cell line M1 differentiates in response to cytokines and expresses many characteristics of tissue macrophages. Incubation of TMEV with undifferentiated M1 cells produced neither infection nor apoptosis, whereas differentiated M1 (M1-D) cells developed a restricted virus infection and changes indicative of apoptosis. Virus binding and RNA replication as well as cellular production of alpha/beta interferons increased with differentiation. Although the amount of infectious virus was highly restricted, BeAn-infected M1-D cells synthesized and appropriately processed virus capsid proteins at levels comparable to those for permissive BHK-21 cells. Analysis of Bcl-2 protein family expression in undifferentiated and differentiated cells suggests that susceptibility of M1-D cells to apoptosis may be controlled, in part, by expression of the proapoptotic alpha isoform of Bax and Bak. These data suggest that macrophage differentiation plays a role in susceptibility to TMEV infection and apoptosis.
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PMID:Differentiation of M1 myeloid precursor cells into macrophages results in binding and infection by Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus and apoptosis. 1007 76

The role and fate of B cells in the central nervous system (CNS) in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) are unknown. Using enzyme-linked immunospot assays we now show that B cells reactive to myelin basic protein (MBP) accumulate in the CNS of Lewis rats with acute EAE induced by immunization with MBP and adjuvants. We also report that B cells are eliminated from the CNS by apoptosis during spontaneous recovery from this disease. Apoptotic B cells were identified by flow cytometry of inflammatory cells extracted from the spinal cord and by histological sections of the spinal cord using light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. B cell apoptosis occurred preferentially in the CNS rather than in the peripheral lymphoid organs and was maximal just prior to the onset of spontaneous clinical recovery. Three colour flow cytometry indicated that B cells expressing CD95 (Fas) or CD95 ligand (CD95L) were highly vulnerable to apoptosis, whereas B cells expressing Bcl-2 were relatively protected from apoptosis. We propose that B cells are eliminated from the CNS by the interaction of CD95L and CD95 on the same B cell and that this contributes to the spontaneous resolution of CNS inflammation and clinical recovery in acute EAE.
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PMID:B cell apoptosis in the central nervous system in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis: roles of B cell CD95, CD95L and Bcl-2 expression. 1075 81

Recent studies have suggested that autoimmune inflammation elicited in the central nervous system (CNS) is subsided by apoptotic cell death of inflammatory cells. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of apoptosis of infiltrating T and other cells occurring in the CNS during autoimmune encephalomyelitis, we determined the type of apoptotic cells and the localization of apoptosis-related molecules (Fas, FasL, Bax, Bcl-2 and active caspase 3) by immunohistochemistry. Double labeling with the TUNEL method and cell-type markers showed that infiltrating T cells and microglia/macrophages underwent apoptosis, while astrocytes and neurons did not. Staining for apoptosis-related molecules revealed that infiltrating T cells and microglia/macrophages, but not astrocytes and neurons, expressed both Fas-FasL and Bax. The distribution and cell type of active caspase 3-positive cells were essentially the same as those of TUNEL-positive cells. These findings suggest that coexpression of Fas/FasL and Bax is closely associated with apoptotic cell death of infiltrating T cells and microglia in the CNS. Furthermore, astrocytes which express Fas and FasL, but not Bax, may play an important role in regulating inflammation in the CNS by inducing apoptotic cell death of infiltrating T cells and microglia, both of which have an inflammation-promoting nature.
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PMID:Coexpression of Fas/FasL and Bax on brain and infiltrating T cells in the central nervous system is closely associated with apoptotic cell death during autoimmune encephalomyelitis. 1081 94

Sindbis virus (SV) causes acute encephalomyelitis by infecting and inducing the death of neurons. Induction of apoptosis occurs during virus entry and involves acid-induced conformational changes in the viral surface glycoproteins and sphingomyelin (SM)-dependent fusion of the virus envelope with the endosomal membrane. We have studied neuroblastoma cells to determine how this entry process triggers cell death. Acidic sphingomyelinase was activated during entry followed by activation of neutral sphingomyelinase, SM degradation, and a sustained increase in ceramide. Ceramide-induced apoptosis and SV-induced apoptosis could be inhibited by treatment with Z-VAD-fmk, a caspase inhibitor, and by overexpression of Bcl-2, an antiapoptotic cellular protein. Acid ceramidase, expressed in a recombinant SV, decreased intracellular ceramide and protected cells from apoptosis. The data suggest that acid-induced SM-dependent virus fusion initiates the apoptotic cascade by inducing SM degradation and ceramide release.
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PMID:Sindbis virus entry into cells triggers apoptosis by activating sphingomyelinase, leading to the release of ceramide. 1086 54

The precise immune mechanisms of neuronal death in anti-Hu-associated paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis (PEM) are unclear. We performed an immunohistochemical study on postmortem brain tissue from 11 patients with anti-Hu-associated PEM to further characterize the immune reaction and to ascertain possible mechanisms of neuronal death. To analyze inflammatory infiltrates, antibodies against lymphocyte subpopulations (CD3, CD20, CD4, CD8), macrophage and activated microglia (CD68), major histocompatibility complex (MHC) classes I and II (HLA-ABC and HLA-DR), and the intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM) -1 and -3 were used. Cell death mechanisms were defined using antibodies against the cytotoxic protein TIA-1, the C9neo component of complement, the Fas receptor (CD95) and its ligand, the apoptosis effector activated caspase-3, and the apoptosis inhibitor Bcl-2. A great number of T cells expressing the cytotoxic protein TIA-1 was observed, mainly in clusters around neurons. ICAM-1 immunoreactivity was increased in the neuropil and reactive astrocytes in areas of inflammation within the central nervous system and in satellite cells of pathological dorsal root ganglia surrounding apparently normal sensory neurons. By contrast, Fas, FasL, C9neo, and activated caspase-3 immunoreactivities were negative in pathological areas. Bcl-2 immunoreactivity was found in satellite cells, but not in sensory neurons of normal and pathological dorsal root ganglia. Our data point out to an induction of a cytotoxic, non-apoptotic, neuronal death in anti-Hu-associated PEM. The increased ICAM-1 immunoreactivity may favor the infiltration of lymphocytes in the pathological areas.
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PMID:Immunohistochemical analysis of anti-Hu-associated paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis. 1193 68

We examined the localization of the anti-apoptotic molecule Bcl-2 in the spinal cords of Lewis rats with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Western blot analysis showed that Bcl-2 was constitutively expressed in normal spinal cords, and weakly increased in response to complete Freund's adjuvant(CFA) immunization. In EAE, with infiltration of inflammatory cells into spinal cords, Bcl-2 declined during the peak stage and further decreased during the recovery stage. Immunohistochemically, some neurons and glial cells constitutively expressed Bcl-2 in normal rat spinal cords. In the spinal cords of rats with EAE, Bcl-2 was also immunoreacted in some perivascular inflammatory cells while some brain cells, such as neurons and GFAP (+) astrocytes showed less Bcl-2 immunoreaction. These findings suggest that in EAE, Bcl-2 expression in the CNS host cells decreases with CNS inflammation, possibly progressing to cell death in some cases, while the survival of host cells, including neurons, astrocytes, and some inflammatory cells, is associated with activation of the anti-apoptotic molecule Bcl-2. Taking all into considerations, its is postulated that Bcl-2 either beneficially or detrimentally functions in some host cells depending on the activation stage of each cell type.
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PMID:Immunohistochemical localization of Bcl-2 in the spinal cords of rats with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. 1281 78

Theiler murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV), DA strain, induces in susceptible strain of mice a biphasic disease consisting of early acute disease followed by late chronic demyelinating disease. Both phases of the disease are associated with inflammatory infiltrates of the central nervous system (CNS). Late chronic demyelinating disease induced by TMEV serves as an excellent model to study human demyelinating disease, multiple sclerosis. During early acute disease, the virus is partially cleared from the CNS by CD3(+) T cells. These T cells express Fas, FasL, negligible levels of Bcl-2 proteins and undergo activation-induced cell death as determined by TUNEL assay leading to resolution of the inflammatory response. In contrast, during late chronic demyelinating disease, and despite dense perivascular and leptomeningeal infiltrates, only very few cells undergo apoptosis. Mononuclear cells infiltrating the CNS express Bcl-2. It appears that the lack of apoptosis of T cells during late chronic demyelinating disease leads to the accumulation of these cells in the CNS. These cells may play a role in the pathogenesis of the demyelinating disease.
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PMID:Apoptosis of infiltrating T cells in the central nervous system of mice infected with Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus. 1459 64


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