Multiple Sclerosis, 1 December 2003, vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 579-584(6)
Nakane S.[1]; Matsuo H.[2]; Goto H.[2]; Yoshinaga-Matsumoto M.[3];
Ohtsuru I.[1]; Ichinose K.[1]; Onodera H.[4]; Yoshida M.[4]; Shibuya N.[1]
[1] Department of Neurology, Kawatana National Hospital, Nagasaki,
Japan [2] Department of Neurology and Division of Clinical Research, Kawatana
National Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan [3] Department of Surgery, Kawatana
National Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan [4] Research and Development Laboratory,
Asahi Medical Co., Ltd., Oita, Japan
Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a major animal model of human multiple sclerosis (MS).
CD4+ T cells are thought to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of EAE and MS.
In order to investigate the depletion of CD4+ T cells from the systemic circulation as an effective strategy for the treatment of MS, we performed extracorporeal CD4+ T cell adsorption, using a filter to which anti-CD4+ antibody is immobilized as a ligand, in adoptively transferred EAE.
Rats treated with CD4+ T cell removal filter (CD4RF) exhibited milder clinical signs of EAE and earlier recovery than those receiving sham treatment.
Moreover, the thymic cells from EAE rats treated with CD4RF exhibited a suppressed proliferative response and IFN-g production to myelin basic protein.
These results suggest that depletion of CD4+ T cells from the systemic circulation by extracorporeal treatment is a potentially useful strategy for treatment of acute phase and relapsing MS.