Nitric Oxide and TNFα Effects in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis Demyelination

Abstract

The involvement of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), which plays various roles in the progression of autoimmune diseases, was studied in iNOS knockout (KO) mice and wild-type (WT) controls with respect to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The iNOS (KO) mice presented a less severe form of the disease than the WT control mice. Although the levels of TNFα decreased in the periphery in both groups, an increase in the number of TNFα-positive cells was detected in the central nervous system during the acute phase of EAE in the WT mice, but not in the KO mice. These findings suggest that NO and TNFα contribute to the pathogenesis of acute EAE.