Ribavirin ameliorates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in rats and modulates cytokine production

To determine the mechanism underlying ribavirin induced amelioration of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), cytokine profiles were evaluated in draining lymph node (DLN) cell culture supernatants and spinal cord obtained from EAE and/or ribavirin-treated EAE Dark Agouti rats. Administration of ribavirin to EAE rats markedly affected the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines IFN-gamma, IL-1beta and TNF-alpha in DLN and spinal cord, thus shifting the balance towards the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and TGF-beta. These findings suggest that ribavirin attenuates EAE by limiting cytokine-mediated immunoinflammatory events leading to CNS destruction. The conducted experiments provide rationale for ribavirin to be considered as a candidate drug in the development of new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases in humans, such as multiple sclerosis.