Glucocorticoids (GC) remain the mainstay of therapy for acute MS episodes. However, it is also clear that GC fail to prevent MS relapses and disease progression, and appear to have little effect on long-term T cell responses to myelin antigens in patients. Similarly, GC treatment efficiently down-regulates EAE in rodents, but fails to prevent subsequent relapses. Importantly, GC fail to inhibit proliferation and cytokine production by T cells at inflammatory sites, which could be particularly relevant in the CMS where expression of MIF in a number of cell types including neurons could contribute to this observation. Our own preliminary data and a recent report by Powell and colleagues strongly support a link between MIF and glucocorticoids in EAE. We found that Wt mice show exacerbation of EAE and relapsing disease upon termination of Dexamethasone treatment, but not MIF-/- mice. Furthermore, EAE is substantially exacerbated in MIF-/- mice treated with the glucocorticoid receptor inhibitor Mifepristone (RU-486). Furthermore, the frequencies and functional avidity of myelin-specific T cells were decreased when MIF was neutralized in vivo with anti-MIF antibodies. Based on these results and the literature it is highly likely that MIF interferes with GC-mediated immunosuppression, induction of apoptosis, and/or migration of inflammatory cells to the CMS. This proposal will test the hypothesis that: MIF promotes EAE by counter-regulating the immunosuppressive effects of glucocorticoids on T cell and macrophage apoptosis, effector functions, and CMS migration. This hypothesis will be tested with the following specific aims:
Aim 1. To determine whether MIF interferes with glucocorticoid-mediated apoptosis of encephalitogenic T cells and APCs in EAE.
Aim 2. To determine whether MIF counter-regulates glucocorticoid-mediated immunosuppression of T cell effector functions in EAE.
Aim 3. To determine the mechanism of MIF interference with apoptosis.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NS052177-04
Application #
7773511
Study Section
Hypersensitivity, Autoimmune, and Immune-mediated Diseases Study Section (HAI)
Program Officer
Utz, Ursula
Project Start
2007-03-01
Project End
2012-02-29
Budget Start
2010-03-01
Budget End
2012-02-29
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$275,792
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
Department
Biology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
800189185
City
San Antonio
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
78249
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Ji, Niannian; Kovalovsky, Andra; Fingerle-Rowson, Günter et al. (2015) Macrophage migration inhibitory factor promotes resistance to glucocorticoid treatment in EAE. Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm 2:e139
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Raphael, Itay; Mahesula, Swetha; Kalsaria, Karan et al. (2012) Microwave and magnetic (M(2) ) proteomics of the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis animal model of multiple sclerosis. Electrophoresis 33:3810-9

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