Related Experiment Videos
Sympathectomy augments adoptively transferred experimental allergic encephalomyelitis
E Chelmicka-Schorr1, M N Kwasniewski, R L Wollmann
1Department of Neurology, University of Chicago, IL 60637.
Journal of Neuroimmunology
|March 1, 1992
Summary
Ablating the sympathetic nervous system in rats exacerbates experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE). This immune-mediated disease worsened when either the recipient rats or the donor lymph node cells (LNC) were sympathectomized.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimmunology
- Autonomic Nervous System Research
- Autoimmune Disease Models
Background:
- Experimental Allergic Encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a model for human demyelinating diseases like Multiple Sclerosis.
- The sympathetic nervous system's role in modulating immune responses is increasingly recognized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of sympathetic nervous system ablation on the adoptive transfer of EAE.
- To determine if sympathectomy in either donor or recipient animals affects EAE severity.
Main Methods:
- Sympathectomy was induced in newborn Lewis rats using 6-hydroxydopamine.
- EAE was induced in donor rats, and lymph node cells (LNC) were collected.
- Adoptive transfer of LNC was performed into either sympathectomized or sham-injected recipient rats.
Main Results:
- Passively transferred EAE was significantly more severe in sympathectomized recipient rats compared to controls.
- EAE severity was also significantly increased when LNC were derived from sympathectomized donor rats.
- Histological examination revealed more severe brain and spinal cord lesions in recipients of LNC from sympathectomized donors.
Conclusions:
- Sympathetic nervous system ablation potentiates EAE.
- Both the recipient's and the donor's sympathetic nervous system status influence EAE severity.
- These findings highlight the sympathetic nervous system as a potential therapeutic target in EAE and related autoimmune conditions.