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Genetics of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis supports the role of T helper cells in multiple sclerosis pathogenesis.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is the primary genetic contributor to multiple sclerosis (MS) and experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), but multiple additional interacting loci are required for genetic susceptibility. The identity of most of these non-MHC genes is unknown. In this report, we identify genes within evolutionarily conserved genetic pathways leading to MS and EAE. METHODS:To identify non-MHC binary and quantitative trait loci (BTL/QTL) important in the pathogenesis of EAE, we generated phenotype-selected congenic mice using EAE-resistant B10.S and EAE-susceptible SJL mice. We hypothesized that genes linked to EAE BTL/QTL and MS-GWAS can be identified if they belong to common evolutionarily conserved pathways, which can be identified with a bioinformatic approach using Ingenuity software. RESULTS:Many known BTL/QTL were retained and linked to susceptibility during phenotype selection, the most significant being a region on chromosome 17 distal to H2 (Eae5). We show in pathway analysis that T helper (T(H))-cell differentiation genes are critical for both diseases. Bioinformatic analyses predicted that Eae5 is important in CD4 T-effector and/or Foxp3(+) T-regulatory cells (Tregs), and we found that B10.S-Eae5(SJL) congenic mice have significantly greater numbers of lymph node CD4 and Tregs than B10.S mice. INTERPRETATION:These results support the polygenic model of MS/EAE, whereby MHC and multiple minor loci are required for full susceptibility, and confirm a critical genetic dependence on CD4 T(H)-cell differentiation and function in the pathogenesis of both diseases.

SUBMITTER: Blankenhorn EP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4122509 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Genetics of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis supports the role of T helper cells in multiple sclerosis pathogenesis.

Blankenhorn Elizabeth P EP Butterfield Russell R Case Laure K LK Wall Emma H EH del Rio Roxana R Diehl Sean A SA Krementsov Dimitry N DN Saligrama Naresha N Teuscher Cory C

Annals of neurology 20111201 6

<h4>Objective</h4>The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is the primary genetic contributor to multiple sclerosis (MS) and experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), but multiple additional interacting loci are required for genetic susceptibility. The identity of most of these non-MHC genes is unknown. In this report, we identify genes within evolutionarily conserved genetic pathways leading to MS and EAE.<h4>Methods</h4>To identify non-MHC binary and quantitative trait loci (BTL/QTL) im ...[more]

PMID: 22190363

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Project description:Autoreactive CD4+ T lymphocytes play a vital role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Since the discovery of T helper 17 cells, there is an ongoing debate whether T helper 1, T helper 17 or both subtypes of T lymphocytes are important for the initiation of autoimmune neuroinflammation. We examined peripheral blood CD4+ cells from patients with active and stable relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, and used mice with conditional deletion or over-expression of the transforming growth factor-beta inhibitor Smad7, to delineate the role of Smad7 in T cell differentiation and autoimmune neuroinflammation. We found that Smad7 is up-regulated in peripheral CD4+ cells from patients with multiple sclerosis during relapse but not remission, and that expression of Smad7 strongly correlates with T-bet, a transcription factor defining T helper 1 responses. Concordantly, mice with transgenic over-expression of Smad7 in T cells developed an enhanced disease course during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, accompanied by elevated infiltration of inflammatory cells and T helper 1 responses in the central nervous system. On the contrary, mice with a T cell-specific deletion of Smad7 had reduced disease and central nervous system inflammation. Lack of Smad7 in T cells blunted T cell proliferation and T helper 1 responses in the periphery but left T helper 17 responses unaltered. Furthermore, frequencies of regulatory T cells were increased in the central nervous system of mice with a T cell-specific deletion and reduced in mice with a T cell-specific over-expression of Smad7. Downstream effects of transforming growth factor-beta on in vitro differentiation of naïve T cells to T helper 1, T helper 17 and regulatory T cell phenotypes were enhanced in T cells lacking Smad7. Finally, Smad7 was induced during T helper 1 differentiation and inhibited during T helper 17 differentiation. Taken together, the level of Smad7 in T cells determines T helper 1 polarization and regulates inflammatory cellular responses. Since a Smad7 deletion in T cells leads to immunosuppression, Smad7 may be a potential new therapeutic target in multiple sclerosis.

Dataset Information

Genetics of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis supports the role of T helper cells in multiple sclerosis pathogenesis.

Publications

Genetics of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis supports the role of T helper cells in multiple sclerosis pathogenesis.

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