TY - JOUR
T1 - Astrocytic IL-6 influences the clinical symptoms of EAE in mice
AU - Erta, Maria
AU - Giralt, Mercedes
AU - Jiménez, Silvia
AU - Molinero, Amalia
AU - Comes, Gemma
AU - Hidalgo, Juan
PY - 2016/6/1
Y1 - 2016/6/1
N2 - © 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine that not only plays major roles in the immune system, but also serves as a coordinator between the nervous and endocrine systems. IL-6 is produced in multiple cell types in the CNS, and in turn, many cells respond to it. It is therefore important to ascertain which cell type is the key responder to IL-6 during both physiological and pathological conditions. In order to test the role of astrocytic IL-6 in neuroinflammation, we studied an extensively-used animal model of multiple sclerosis, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), in mice with an IL-6 deficiency in astrocytes (Ast-IL-6 KO). Results indicate that lack of astrocytic IL-6 did not cause major changes in EAE symptomatology. However, a delay in the onset of clinical signs was observed in Ast-IL-6 KO females, with fewer inflammatory infiltrates and decreased demyelination and some alterations in gliosis and vasogenesis, compared to floxed mice. These results suggest that astrocyte-secreted IL-6 has some roles in EAE pathogenesis, at least in females.
AB - © 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine that not only plays major roles in the immune system, but also serves as a coordinator between the nervous and endocrine systems. IL-6 is produced in multiple cell types in the CNS, and in turn, many cells respond to it. It is therefore important to ascertain which cell type is the key responder to IL-6 during both physiological and pathological conditions. In order to test the role of astrocytic IL-6 in neuroinflammation, we studied an extensively-used animal model of multiple sclerosis, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), in mice with an IL-6 deficiency in astrocytes (Ast-IL-6 KO). Results indicate that lack of astrocytic IL-6 did not cause major changes in EAE symptomatology. However, a delay in the onset of clinical signs was observed in Ast-IL-6 KO females, with fewer inflammatory infiltrates and decreased demyelination and some alterations in gliosis and vasogenesis, compared to floxed mice. These results suggest that astrocyte-secreted IL-6 has some roles in EAE pathogenesis, at least in females.
KW - Astrocyte
KW - EAE
KW - Interleukin-6
U2 - https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci6020015
DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci6020015
M3 - Article
VL - 6
M1 - 15
ER -