Comparison of the amelioration effects of two enzyme inducers on the inflammatory process of experimental allergic...

Experimental Allergic Encephalitis (EAE) is a T-cell mediated autoimmune disease, which resembles the human disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in rodents. The infiltration of inflammatory cells and the induction of astrocyte proliferation correlate with EAE severity. Oxidative stress is postulated to have a role in the onset and progression of MS. Therefore, by reducing oxidative stress via phase II enzymes inducers; namely the butylhydroxyanisole (BHA) and Thymoquinone (glutathione inducer), the inflammation could be ameliorated. EAE was induced in Lewis rats using Myelin Basic Protein (MBP) and complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Animals were placed into 1. those on normal rat chow, 2. those on rat chow containing BHA, 3. those receiving concomitant five day injection of thymoquinone days 1-5 post-EAE induction, 4. those receiving five doses of thymoquinone injected at day 12-17 post-EAE induction. Twenty-nine days later, animals from each group were sacrificed and tissues collected for immunohistochemistry using the anti-glial fibrillary acid (GFAP) antibody to examine the amelioration effect these two agents have on the inflammatory process occurring in EAE by examining the astrocyte proliferation in the Central Nervous System (CNS).