Istvan Pirko1, Jeremiah McDole2,
Yi Chen2, Scott R. Dunn3, Diana M. Lindquist3,
Aaron J. Johnson2
1Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic,
Rochester, MN, United States; 2Department of Neurology, University
of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States; 3Imaging Research
Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United
States
TMEV
infection of mice is an accepted model of multiple sclerosis. In C57B6/J
mice, the formation of T1 black holes (T1BH) is detectable in this model. In
this study we confirmed that CD8 T cells are the main contributors to T1BH
formation, whereas CD 4 T cells prevent T1BH formation. We also determined
that the involved CD8 T cells are classic epitope specific cytotoxic T cells.
T1BH formation is thought to represent neuronal/axonal damage in MS; therefore,
it is plausible that CD8 T cells play an important effector role targeted at
neurons and axons in MS-related neuroinflammatory diseases.