Immunopathology of the Optic Nerve in MS

A forum to discuss research on the origins of MS and its development.
Post Reply
User avatar
frodo
Family Elder
Posts: 1749
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2009 3:00 pm
Contact:

Immunopathology of the Optic Nerve in MS

Post by frodo »

The optic nerve has nearly no myelin and nevertheless is affected in MS. This could be an important clue for pathogenesis.

https://europepmc.org/article/med/35778909

Optic neuritis, a primary clinical manifestation commonly observed in multiple sclerosis (MS) is a major factor leading to permanent loss of vision. Despite decreased vision (optic neuritis), diplopia, and nystagmus, the immunopathology of the optic nerve in MS is unclear.

Here, we have characterised the optic nerve pathology in a large cohort of MS cases (n=154), focusing on the immune responses in a sub-cohort of MS (n=30) and control (n=6) cases. Immunohistochemistry was used to characterise the myeloid (HLA-DR, CD68, Iba1, TMEM119, P2RY12) and adaptive immune cells (CD4, CD8, CD138) in the parenchyma, perivascular spaces, and meninges in optic nerve tissues from MS and control cases.

Of the 154 MS cases, 122 (79%) reported visual problems of which 99 (81%) optic nerves showed evidence of damage. Of the 31 cases with no visual disturbances, 19 (61%) showed evidence of pathology.

A pattern of myeloid cell activity and demyelination in the optic nerve was similar to white matter lesions in the brain and spinal cord.

In the optic nerves, adaptive immune cells were more abundant in the meninges close to active and chronic active lesions, and significantly higher compared to the parenchyma. Similar to brain tissues in this Dutch cohort, B-cell follicles in the meninges were absent.

Our study reveals that optic nerve pathology is a frequent event in MS and may occur in the absence of clinical symptoms.
Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “MS Etiology and Pathogenesis”