The neuroprotective effect of inflammation: implications for the therapy of multiple sclerosis

Autoreactive T cells are a regular component of the healthy immune system. It has been proposed that some of these autoreactive T cells even might have a protective function. Recent studies support this notion by demonstrating that: a) myelin-autoreactive T cells show neuroprotective effects in vivo, and b) activated antigen-specific human T cells and other immune cells produce bioactive brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and other neurotrophic factors in vitro. Furthermore, BDNF is expressed in different types of inflammatory cells in brain lesions of patients with acute disseminated leukoencephalopathy or multiple sclerosis. It seems plausible that the immune cell-mediated import of BDNF and other neurotrophic factors into the central nervous system has functional consequences and implications for the therapy of multiple sclerosis and other neuroimmunological diseases.