Immunopathogenesis and prevention of uveitis with the Behçet's disease-specific peptide linked to cholera toxin B.
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Bacterial Proteins↗
Biomedical subjects
B G Xiao
Publications and source records attributed to B G Xiao.
IL-17 and IFN-gamma mRNA expression is increased in the brain and systemically after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rat.
Brain ischemia is characterized by local inflammation reflected by accumulation of inflammatory cells and a multitude of mediators. Among them, cytokines and chemokines may influence the inflammatory cascade that follows cerebral ischemia. Here we report on brain hemispheric and systemic increase of pro-inflammatory IL-17 and IFN-gamma, the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and IL-10, and the chemokines IP-10, IL-8 and MIP-2, 1 h to 6 days after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO). IL-17 and IFN-gamma mRNA levels were elevated in the ischemic hemispheres of pMCAO-operated rats compared with corresponding hemispheres of sham-operated rats. Levels were slightly elevated at 1 h, and peaked at 6 days after pMCAO. IL-8 and MIP-2 levels in the ischemic hemispheres peaked at 24 h, whereas IP-10 showed a biphasic profile with two peaks at 6 h and 6 days after pMCAO. IL-4 peaked in the ischemic hemispheres at 6 h, when IL-10 levels were lower than in sham-operated rats, and IL-10 levels peaked at 2 days after pMCAO. Systemically, the numbers of IL-17 and IFN-gamma mRNA expressing blood mononuclear cells were elevated already at 1 h after pMCAO, preceding the changes in the ischemic hemispheres. Altered levels of IL-17 and IFN-gamma after pMCAO may affect outcome of brain ischemia.
Animals↗
SIN-1, a nitric oxide donor, ameliorates experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in Lewis rats in the incipient phase: the importance of the time window.
NO is involved in the regulation of immune responses. The role of NO in the pathogenesis of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) is controversial. In this study, 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1), an NO donor, was administered to Lewis rats on days 5-7 postimmunization, i.e., during the incipient phase of EAE. SIN-1 reduced clinical signs of EAE compared with those in PBS-treated control rats and was accompanied by reduced ED1(+) macrophages and CD4(+) T cell infiltration within the CNS. Blood mononuclear cells (MNC) obtained on day 14 postimmunization revealed that SIN-1 administration enhanced NO and IFN-gamma production by blood MNC and suppressed Ag- and mitogen-induced proliferative responses. MHC class II, B7-1 and B7-2 were down-regulated in SIN-1-treated EAE rats. Simultaneously, frequencies of apoptotic cells among blood MNC were increased. In vivo, SIN-1 is likely to behave as an NO donor. Administration of SIN-1 induced NO production, but did not affect superoxide and peroxynitrite formation. Enhanced NO production during the priming phase of EAE thus promotes apoptosis, down-regulates disease-promoting immune reactivities, and ameliorates clinical EAE, mainly through SIN-1-derived NO, without depending on NO synthase.
Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
Interferon-beta induces the development of type 2 dendritic cells.
Suppression of interleukin 12 (IL-12) production by dendritic cells (DCs) has been hypothesized to be a principal mechanism underlying the biological action of interferon (IFN)-beta used for treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system with possible autoimmune origin. How IFN-beta interacts with DCs to inhibit IL-12 production remains unclear. In this study, we found that DCs derived from human blood monocytes, upon culture in the presence of IFN-beta with granulocyte-macrophage colony- stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and IL-4, differentiated into a population expressing CD14- CD1a- HLA-DR+. This population expressed CD123 (IL-3Ralpha). IFN-beta dose-dependently increased IL-3Ralpha+ DCs and decreased CD1a+ DCs. After 7 days' culture with IFN-beta at a concentration of 10 000 U/ml, more than 40% of DCs expressed IL-3Ralpha. IFN-beta, together with GM-CSF and IL-4, also induced maturation of IL-3Ralpha-expressing cells, as reflected by upregulation of HLA-DR and of the costimulatory molecules CD40, CD80 and CD86. In contrast to control DCs, IFN-beta-treated DCs produced predominantly IL-10 but only low levels of IL-12p40. Correspondingly, IFN-beta-treated DCs strongly suppressed IFN-gamma production but enhanced IL-10 production by allogeneic blood mononuclear cells. Our data suggest that IFN-beta in vitro can induce the development of DC2, which provide a permissive environment for Th2 differentiation. This finding represents a novel mechanism for action of IFN-beta in MS.
Antigens, CD1↗
Vaccination with autologous dendritic cells: from experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis to multiple sclerosis.
Autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) are characterized by the loss of tolerance to self-determinants, activation of autoreactive lymphocytes and subsequent damage to single or multiple organs. The mechanisms by which autoimmune responses are triggered, and how activation of autoreactive lymphocytes is initiated and maintained, are not fully understood. Therapeutic approaches in autoimmune diseases have so far concentrated on antigens and T cells. Given the exceptional capacity of dendritic cells (DCs) to induce immunity in vivo, recent reports of the first successful clinical trials based on vaccination of tumor patients with autologous blood DCs pulsed in vitro with tumor antigen come as no surprise. The recent identification of tolerogenic subsets of DCs and their generation in culture may allow a novel approach to induce tolerance in autoimmune diseases. By selective in vitro manipulation of DCs and their subsequent reinfusion, DC-mediated tolerance has been achieved in animal models of human autoimmune diseases, including experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in Lewis rats and SJL/J mice and spontaneous diabetes in NOD mice. In vitro observations of human blood DCs are promising for DC-based treatment of MS and other diseases with an autoimmune component. Data from animal models and human materials suggest that DC-based immunotherapy could be beneficial at least as a complement to conventional therapy. Molecular-biological approaches to tolerogenic DCs could provide a rationale for designing immunotherapeutic strategies in autoimmune diseases.
Animals↗
Interleukin 10 aggravates experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis through inducing Th2 and B cell responses to AChR.
The damage of acetylcholine receptor (AChR) at neuromuscular junctions of experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG), an animal model of human MG, is mediated by B cells which require T cell help. The Th2 associated cytokine IL-10 suppresses production of cytokines released by Th1 cells and is considered for treatment of human autoimmune diseases. To evaluate the role of IL-10 in EAMG, rhIL-10 was administered daily to Lewis rats by the subcutaneous route starting at the day of immunization and continued for 7 weeks. IL-10 failed to abrogate EAMG at low dose (0.1 or 1 microg/day) and at the dose of 3 microg/day caused earlier onset and aggravated clinical signs of EAMG when compared to EAMG rats injected with PBS only. Although Th1 responses reflected by AChR-induced lymphocyte proliferation and levels of IFN-gamma secreting cells, as well as AChR-induced Th1 cytokine mRNA expression was suppressed, augmented IL-4 mRNA expression and AChR-specific B cell responses may play an important role in the failure of IL-10 to abrogate EAMG. This study implicates a critical precaution in planning immunotherapy of IL-10 in antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases, e.g. MG.
Acetylcholine↗
Effects of Linomide on immune cells and cytokines inhibit autoimmune pathologies of the central and peripheral nervous system.
Linomide (roquinimex, LS 2616) is a quinoline-3-carboxamide with pleiotropic immune modulating capacity and it has therapeutic effects in several experimental animal models of autoimmune diseases. Linomide has been evaluated in clinical trials for multiple sclerosis, and was indeed shown to have disease inhibitory effects. However, due to unexpected side effects recorded in patients treated with Linomide, premature termination of clinical trials was required. The basic mechanism(s) of action of Linomide in inducing beneficial effects in autoimmune diseases is still elusive. Some experimental evidence indicates that Linomide influences the regulation of the cytokine profile, resulting in the inhibition of autoimmune and inflammation pathologies. This review focuses on Linomide applied in models for autoimmune and inflammation pathologies of the central and the peripheral nervous system, and summarises its very encouraging disease inhibitory effects and their potential pharmacological basis. The beneficial effects recorded with Linomide in both experimental and clinical trials emphasise the possible value of substances with Linomide-like activity for clinical use in autoimmune and inflammation pathologies in the near future.
Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
Rat models as tool to develop new immunotherapies.
Rat models (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, EAE; myasthenia gravis, EAMG) have been developed that mimic certain aspects of the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) and myasthenia gravis (MG) in humans. Rat EAE and EAMG are, therefore, widely used to evaluate immunotherapeutic strategies. Mucosal tolerance induced by oral or nasal administration of autoantigen effectively suppresses rat EAE and EAMG. Nasal administration of the cytokines interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10 or transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 also ameliorates clinical signs of rat EAE. However, neither mucosal tolerance nor cytokines affect clinical disease if administered during ongoing rat EAE or EAMG. Dendritic cells (DC) pulsed in vitro with autoantigen can mediate peripheral tolerance against rat EAE and EAMG, but do not affect ongoing EAE or EAMG. DC from healthy rats, modified in vitro by exposure to IFN-gamma or TGF-beta1, effectively suppress ongoing EAE and EAMG when given by the subcutaneous route. Most importantly, DC from EAMG rats, after being modified in vitro with IL-10, also inhibit ongoing rat EAMG. These results demonstrate that different strategies influencing T- and/or B-cell responses in rat EAE or EAMG are available, but that DC-based immunotherapies are the most promising, in order to ameliorate ongoing organ-specific autoaggressive immunity Based on these observations, autologous DC, after being modified in vitro with cytokines, constitute a basis for new immunotherapeutic strategies in MS, MG and other diseases with autoimmune background.
Animals↗
Altered phenotype and function of blood dendritic cells in multiple sclerosis are modulated by IFN-beta and IL-10.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is assumed to result from autoaggressive T cell-mediated immune responses, in which T helper type 1 (Th1) cells producing cytokines, e.g. IFN-gamma and lymphotoxin promote damage of oligodendrocyte-myelin units. Dendritic cells (DCs) as potent antigen presenting cells initiate and orchestrate immune responses. Whether phenotype and function of DCs with respect to Th1 cell promotion are altered in MS, are not known. This study revealed that blood-derived DCs from MS patients expressed low levels of the costimulatory molecule CD86. In addition, production of IFN-gamma by blood mononuclear cells (MNCs) was strongly enhanced by DCs derived from MS patients. IFN-beta and IL-10 inhibited the costimulatory capacity of DCs in mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) and showed additive effects on suppression of IL-12 production by DCs. Correspondingly, DCs pretreated with IFN-beta and IL-10 significantly suppressed IFN-gamma production by MNCs. IFN-beta in vitro also upregulated CD80 and, in particular, CD86 expression on DCs. In vitro, anti-CD80 antibody remarkably increased, while anti-CD86 antibody inhibited DC-induced IL-4 production in MLR. We conclude that DC phenotype and function are altered in MS, implying Th1-biased responses with enhanced capacity to induce Th1 cytokine production. In vitro modification of MS patients' DCs by IFN-beta and IL-10 could represent a novel way of immunomodulation and of possible usefulness for future immunotherapy of MS.
Adult↗
Bone marrow-derived dendritic cells from experimental allergic encephalomyelitis induce immune tolerance to EAE in Lewis rats.
We have previously shown that dendritic cells (DC), upon being pulsed in vitro with encephalitogenic myelin basic protein peptide 68-86 (MBP 68-86) and injected subcutaneously (s.c.) back to healthy Lewis rats, transfer immune tolerance to experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced by immunization with MBP 68-86 and Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA). We here assumed that DC become pulsed in EAE rats, and that expansion in vitro of such 'in vivo pulsed EAE-DC' might also have the capacity to induce immune tolerance to EAE, thereby eliminating the need for in vitro pulsing of DC with autoantigens which are still unknown in many autoimmune diseases in the human. In the present study, EAE-DC were generated from bone marrow of Lewis rats, with EAE induced with MBP 68-86 + FCA, and expanded in vitro by culture with GM-CSF and IL-4. In comparison with DC from normal rats, EAE-DC exhibited higher viability in the absence of growth factors, and presented specific antigen to naïve T cells in vitro. The DC derived from both EAE and healthy rats stimulated strong proliferation in an antigen-independent manner, lasting for 4 weeks after DC were s.c. injected into healthy rats. During this time, injection of EAE-DC did not induce clinical EAE. However, when these rats were immunized with MBP 68-86 + FCA, subsequent EAE was dramatically suppressed, and was associated with increased IFN-gamma expression, nitric oxide production, gradually reduced proliferation and cell apoptosis, compared with PBS-injected control EAE rats. LPS-treated DC did not induce tolerance, suggesting that the tolerance is mediated by an immature stage of DC. These observations support the hypothesis that EAE-DC can transfer immune tolerance to EAE, thereby omitting the step of characterizing specific autoantigen. Omitting the step of loading DC with antigen not only eliminates the extremely complex procedure of defining pathogenically-relevant autoantigens, but also avoids the risk of inducing immunogenicity of DC in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
Adoptive Transfer↗
An alternative pathway of nitric oxide production by rat astrocytes requires specific antigen and T cell contact.
In the present study, we observed an alternative pathway in which nitric oxide (NO) production by rat astrocytes requires specific antigen and cell-cell contact. NO production by astrocytes was significantly inhibited by antibodies against CD40L, B7-1 or B7-2. Astrocyte-derived NO inhibited T cell proliferation and induced T cell apoptosis. In contrast, augmented astrocyte proliferation was correlated to the levels of NO production by astrocytes, implicating a role of NO in regulating local immune responses in the central nervous system. These results suggest that T cell-astrocyte interactions may regulate local immune responses via the NO pathway and influence the fate of infiltrating T cells.
Animals↗
The complexicity of cytokine treatment in ongoing EAE induced with MBP peptide 68-86 in Lewis rats.
IL-10 and TGF-beta1 are important immunoregulatory cytokines associated with clinical remissions in multiple sclerosis and amelioration of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE). IL-10 and TGF-beta1 have previously been shown to prevent the development of EAE. Here, we study effects of IL-10 and TGF-beta1 in ongoing EAE. When IL-10 or TGF-beta1 was administered by the nasal route from day 0 to day 7 postimmunization (pi), both IL-10 and TGF-beta1 prevented the development of acute EAE in Lewis rats. When IL-10 or TGF-beta1 was administered by the nasal route from day 5 to day 12 pi, both IL-10 and TGF-beta1 failed to influence clinical EAE. The inhibition of clinical EAE severity in IL-10-prevented rats was associated with reduced proliferation, IFN-gamma mRNA expression, and IFN-gamma secretion, while proliferation as well as IFN-gamma mRNA expression and secretion were augmented in TGF-beta1-prevented rats. TGF-beta1-prevented rats exhibited high levels of NO production by DC, which may mediate apoptosis of CD4+ T cells and of the DC themselves. For prevention, both IL-10 and TGF-beta1 inhibited infiltration of CD4+ T cells within the CNS, but neither IL-10 nor TGF-beta1 induced immune deviation from Th1 to Th2. Expression of IL-4 mRNA was not altered in IL-10- and TGF-beta1-prevented rats. These results demonstrate that IL-10 and TGF-beta administration by the nasal route can prevent the development of acute EAE, but by different mechanisms. The findings in rats with ongoing EAE have implications for the clinical application of cytokine treatment in autoimmune diseases.
Animals↗
Combined nasal administration of encephalitogenic myelin basic protein peptide 68-86 and IL-10 suppressed incipient experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in Lewis rats.
Mucosal administration of low doses of myelin basic protein (MBP) peptide 68-86 (MBP 68-86) or anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 effectively prevented experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), but failed to suppress the disease if given after 7 days postimmunization (p.i.), i.e., after T cell priming had occurred. We anticipated that combined administration of autoantigen and IL-10 can treat incipient EAE. Lewis rats with EAE actively induced with MBP 68-86 and complete Freund's adjuvant received 120 microg MBP 68-86 + 200 ng IL-10 per rat per day from day 7 p.i. and for 5 consecutive days. These rats showed later onset, lower clinical scores, less body weight loss, and shorter duration of EAE than rats receiving MBP 68-86 or IL-10 only or PBS. EAE amelioration was associated with decreased infiltration of ED1(+) macrophages and CD4(+) T cells within the central nervous system and with decreased proliferative responses of lymph node cells, indicating that combined administration of MBP 68-86 and IL-10 induced immune hyporesponsiveness. IFN-gamma secretion as well as IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-4, and IL-10 mRNA expression by lymph node MNC was down-regulated in the treated rats. Immune hyporesponsiveness, rather than immune deviation or regulatory mechanisms, seems to be responsible for the protection of EAE after autoantigen + IL-10 administration by the nasal route.
Administration, Intranasal↗
TGF-beta1 inhibits protracted-relapsing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by activating dendritic cells.
Protracted-relapsing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (PR-EAE) in DA rats is an animal model closely related to multiple sclerosis (MS). Previous studies showed that nasal administration of TGF-beta1 suppressed the development and relapse of PR-EAE clinically and pathologically. Here we demonstrate that this suppressive effect was associated with activation of dendritic cells (DC), showing elevated proliferative response and IFN-gamma and nitric oxide (NO) production by DC. DC derived from TGF-beta1-treated rats with PR-EAE also showed high expression of nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) at both mRNA and protein levels. Apoptotic cells were increased in spleen sections of TGF-beta1-treated rats compared to control rats. In studying mechanisms of apoptosis in TGF-beta1-treated rats, in vitro experiments demonstrated that TGF-beta1-treated DC induced apoptosis of CD4(+)T cells by a NO pathway after co-culture with T cells. These results support the hypothesis that TGF-beta1-induced suppression of PR-EAE is associated with apoptosis of CD4(+)T cells induced by DC-derived NO.
Animals↗
Suppression of ongoing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Lewis rats: synergistic effects of myelin basic protein (MBP) peptide 68-86 and IL-4.
Mucosal myelin autoantigen administration effectively prevented EAE, but mostly failed to treat ongoing EAE. Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), for which EAE is considered an animal model, did not benefit from oral treatment with bovine myelin. We anticipated that autoantigen, administered together with a cytokine that counteracts Th1 cell responses, might ameliorate Th1-driven autoimmune disease, and that nasal administration might considerably reduce the amounts of antigen + cytokine needed for treatment purposes. Lewis rats with EAE actively induced with myelin basic protein peptide (MBP 68-86) and Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA), received from day 7 post-immunization, i.e. after T cell priming had occurred, 120 microg MBP 68-86 + 100 ng IL-4 per rat per day for 5 consecutive days. These rats showed later onset, lower clinical scores, less body weight loss and shorter EAE duration compared with rats receiving MBP 68-86 or IL-4 only, or PBS. EAE amelioration was associated with decreased infiltration of ED1+ macrophages and CD4+ T cells within the central nervous system, and with decreased interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and enhanced IL-4, IL-10 and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) responses by lymph node cells. Simultaneous administration of encephalitogenic peptide + IL-4 by the nasal route thus suppressed ongoing EAE and induced IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-beta-related regulatory elements.
Administration, Intranasal↗
Autoantigen-pulsed dendritic cells induce tolerance to experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Lewis rats.
Dendritic cells (DC) can modulate the nature of immune responses in a stimulatory or tolerogenic fashion. Great attention has been given to the induction of immunity to tumour and infection. In this study, bone marrow-derived DC from healthy Lewis rats were pulsed in vitro with encephalitogenic myelin basic protein peptide 68-86 (MBP 68-86), and injected subcutaneously (1 x 106/rat) into normal Lewis rats. Upon observation of the rats pretreated in this way for 4 weeks, when no clinical signs of EAE occurred, these rats were immunized with MBP 68-86 and Freund's complete adjuvant. The pretreated rats failed to develop clinical EAE. This tolerance was associated with augmented proliferative responses, interferon-gamma secretion, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression and NO production. The frequency of apoptotic cells was increased in the rats receiving MBP 68-86-pulsed DC compared with unpulsed control DC. Few infiltrating inflammatory cells were observed in spinal cord sections from rats that had received MBP 68-86-pulsed DC. The data are compatible with the interpretation that MBP 68-86-pulsed DC induce tolerance to EAE possibly through up-regulation of iNOS expression and NO production, which mediate cell apoptosis, thereby reducing infiltration of inflammatory cells within the central nervous system.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Adherent dendritic cells expressing high levels of interleukin-10 and low levels of interleukin-12 induce antigen-specific tolerance to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.
We have previously shown that tolerance can be induced against acute experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Lewis rats by bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DC) that have been pulsed in vitro with encephalitogenic myelin basic protein peptide 68-86 (MBP 68-86), and injected subcutaneously into healthy rats prior to immunization with MBP 68-86 plus complete Freund's adjuvant. To elucidate better the properties of tolerogenic DC, we here compared plastic-adherent DC with floating, non-adherent DC, which were cultured for 7 days in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor plus interleukin-4 (IL-4). Adherent DC expressed high levels of IL-10 mRNA and protein, and low levels of IL-12 mRNA and showed high expression of CD54 compared with floating DC. Proliferation, nitrite concentration and capacity for antigen presentation were lower in adherent DC than in floating DC. There were no differences between adherent and floating DC regarding expression of CD11c, OX62, major histocompatibility complex class II, CD80, or CD86. Most importantly, we observed that adherent DC induced tolerance to EAE in vivo when injected subcutaneously into Lewis rats prior to immunization, while floating DC did not. Adherent DC-mediated tolerance to EAE was associated with augmented proliferation, nitric oxide production and frequency of apoptotic cells as well as with up-regulation of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) -expressing cells in T-cell areas of lymph nodes. Tolerance induction by adherent DC seems to be related to a nitric oxide-apoptosis pathway and to up-regulation of TGF-beta-expressing cells.
Animals↗
Oral administration of cholera toxin B subunit conjugated to myelin basic protein protects against experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by inducing transforming growth factor-beta-secreting cells and suppressing chemokine expression.
The efficacy and mechanism of immunosuppression against experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) by oral low-dose administration of myelin basic protein (MBP) conjugated to cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) were investigated in Lewis rats immunized with MBP together with complete Freund's adjuvant 4 days before the start of treatment. Oral treatment with CTB-MBP conjugate gave almost complete protection against disease, an effect that was totally abrogated by including a low dose of cholera holotoxin (CT). The protection by CTB-MBP was associated with a dramatic reduction in the number of leukocytes staining for CD4, CD8, IL-2R or MHC class II in the spinal cord as examined by immunohistochemistry. The mRNA expressions of T(h)1 cytokines IFN-gamma, IL-12 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, as well as of chemokines monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 and RANTES in the spinal cord were also reduced by 76-94%, as assessed by in situ hybridization. In contrast, transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta mRNA-expressing cells were strongly increased in the spinal cord from animals treated orally with the CTB-MBP conjugate. In the draining peripheral lymph nodes, the number of MBP-specific TGF-beta mRNA-expressing cells was also increased, whereas there was a decrease in cells expressing T(h)1 or T(h)2 cytokine mRNA. Protection against EAE could be transferred by injection of cells from the mesenteric lymph nodes of animals fed with CTB-MBP into naive animals exposed to encephalitogenic T cells. The results indicate that the protective anti-inflammatory effect by oral treatment with CTB-MBP conjugate is, to a large extent, due to the induction of TGF-beta-secreting suppressive-regulatory T cells and to local down-regulation of MCP-1 and RANTES in the spinal cord.
Administration, Oral↗