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Development of Stem Cell-derived Antigen-specific Regulatory T Cells Against Autoimmunity
Published on: November 8, 2016
Exacerbation of autoimmune arthritis by copolymer-I through promoting type 1 immune response and autoantibody
Biao Zheng1, Kirsten Switzer, Ekaterina Marinova
1Department of Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. bzheng@bcm.edu
Abstract:
Copolymer-I (COP-I) is an unique immune regulatory polymer that has been shown to suppress experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and is a treatment option for multiple sclerosis (MS). To investigate whether its immune suppressive effects can be extended to other autoimmune diseases, we treated mice with COP-I during the induction of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Our results show that COP-I treatment exacerbated CIA, leading to faster onset, more severe and longer-lasting disease. The mechanisms underlying the exacerbation of CIA by COP-I treatment include enhanced activation and inflammatory cytokine production by autoreactive T cells and elevated production of autoreactive antibodies. In addition, germinal center response was significantly enhanced by COP-I treatment. Thus, great caution should be taken when COP-I is to be used in MS patients with other autoimmune complications or its potential therapeutic effects are to be extended beyond autoimmune demyelinating diseases.
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