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Increased IL-23p19 expression in multiple sclerosis lesions and its induction in microglia.

Li Y, Chu N, Hu A, Gran B, Rostami A, Zhang GX.
Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

IL-12 has long been considered important in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis. However, evidence from recent studies strongly supports the critical role of IL-12-related proinflammatory cytokine IL-23, but not IL-12, in the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of this disease.

The role of IL-23 in the CNS immunity of multiple sclerosis patients has not been elucidated; nor is it known whether human microglia produce this cytokine. In this study we investigated the expression of IL-23p19 and p40, with its key subunit p19 as the focus, in histologically characteriSed CNS specimens from multiple sclerosis and control cases using in situ hybridiSation and immunohistochemistry.

A significant increase in mRNA expression and protein production of both subunits of IL-23 was found in lesion tissues compared with non-lesion tissues. Double staining showed that activated macrophages/microglia were an important source of IL-23p19 in active and chronic active multiple sclerosis lesions. We also detected IL-23p19 expression in mature dendritic cells which were preferentially located in the perivascular cuff of active lesions.

The finding that human microglia produce IL-23 was further confirmed by the inducible production of IL-23p19 and p40 in cultured human microglia in vitro upon different Toll-like receptor stimulations. Taken together, these findings on the expression of IL-23p19 in multiple sclerosis lesions may lead to a better understanding of the events culminating in human multiple sclerosis.

Source: Brain 2007 Feb;130(Pt 2):490-501.

IL-25 regulates Th17 function in autoimmune inflammation.

Kleinschek MA, Owyang AM, Joyce-Shaikh B, Langrish CL, Chen Y, Gorman DM, Blumenschein WM, McClanahan T, Brombacher F, Hurst SD, Kastelein RA, Cua DJ.

Discovery Research and 2Experimental Pathology and Pharmacology, Schering-Plough Biopharma, Palo Alto, CA 94304.

Interleukin (IL)-25 is a member of the IL-17 family of cytokines. However, unlike the other members of this family, IL-25 promotes T helper (Th) 2 responses. We now show that IL-25 also regulates the development of autoimmune inflammation mediated by IL-17-producing T cells. We have generated IL-25-deficient (il25(-/-)) mice and found that they are highly susceptible to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The accelerated disease in the il25(-/-) mice is associated with an increase of IL-23 in the periphery and a subsequent increase in the number of inflammatory IL-17-, IFNgamma-, and TNF-producing T cells that invade the central nervous system. Neutralization of IL-17 but not IFNgamma in il25(-/-) mice prevented EAE, suggesting that IL-17 is a major disease-promoting factor. IL-25 treatment at several time points during a relapse-remitting model or chronic model of EAE completely suppressed disease. IL-25 treatment induced elevated production of IL-13, which is required for suppression of Th17 responses by direct inhibition of IL-23, IL-1beta, and IL-6 expression in activated dendritic cells. Thus, IL-25 and IL-17, being members of the same cytokine family, play opposing roles in the pathogenesis of organ-specific autoimmunity.

PMID: 17200411 [PubMed - in process]