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Published on: September 26, 2013
IL-37 suppresses CNS autoimmunity by increasing the frequency of Treg cells and reducing CD4 + T cell-derived IL-10
Reza Yazdani1, Hamed Naziri1, Gholamreza Azizi1
1Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, 900 Walnut Street, Suite 300, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA.
Background:
Interleukin-37 (IL-37) has anti-inflammatory properties in innate and adaptive immunity. Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS), have increased serum levels of IL-37. However, it is unknown whether IL-37 has an inhibitory effect on ongoing autoimmune neuroinflammation, thus offering a potential MS therapy.
Aim:
Here, we examined the effect of IL-37 in an experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model after disease onset to determine if it was protective.
Findings:
IL-37-treated mice developed a less severe disease than control mice, with reduced demyelination as determined by increased expression of myelin basic protein. IL-37 suppressed inflammation by decreasing infiltration of CD4 + T cells into the CNS and increasing the frequency of regulatory T cells, while IL-10 expression by CD4 + T cells decreased over time in the CNS.
Conclusion:
Our findings confirm the immunomodulatory role of IL-37 in CNS inflammation during ongoing disease, thus indicating the potential of IL-37 as an inhibitory reagent for MS therapy.
