Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Ifn-Β Acts On Monocytes To Ameliorate Cns Autoimmunity By Inhibiting Proinflammatory Cross-Talk Between Monocytes And Th Cells., Javad Rasouli, Giacomo Casella, Larissa Ishikawa, Rodolfo Thome, Alexandra Boehm, Adam Ertel, Carolina R Melo-Silva, Elisabeth R. Mari, Patrizia Porazzi, Weifeng Zhang, Dan Xiao, Luis J. Sigal, Paolo Fortina, Guang-Xian Zhang, A M Rostami, Bogoljub Ciric

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

IFN-β has been the treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) for almost three decades, but understanding the mechanisms underlying its beneficial effects remains incomplete. We have shown that MS patients have increased numbers of GM-CSF+ Th cells in circulation, and that IFN-β therapy reduces their numbers. GM-CSF expression by myelin-specific Th cells is essential for the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS. These findings suggested that IFN-β therapy may function via suppression of GM-CSF production by Th cells. In the current study, we elucidated a feedback loop between monocytes and Th cells that amplifies autoimmune neuroinflammation, …