There is also good evidence of probiotic modulation of DCs towards a proregulatory function [15,28]. Of course, not all commensals are down-regulatory, and some (like Helicobacter hepaticus) may be pathogenic in some settings, yet induce Tregs in others [29]. Furthermore, there can be significant interactions between pathogens, as in the example of intestinal bacteria aggravating the immunopathology caused by Toxoplasma infection [30]. In the latter setting, there is reduced floral complexity, either because of relative loss of more ‘regulatory’ strains or simply as a broad reflection of an altered selleck screening library homeostasis accompanying

pathogenesis. One consequence of the immune system’s reliance on microflora for optimal immunoregulation is that antibiotic therapies may result in unintended activation of immune effector mechanisms. In model systems, antibiotic treatment renders mice more susceptible to induction of food allergy [7] as well as allergic airway inflammation [31]. For the human population, antibiotics are seen as major modifiers of beneficial human–microbe interactions [32] Ensartinib superimposed upon alterations caused by other exogenous factors including urbanization, global travel and dietary changes [33]. The acute effects of antibiotic treatment on the native gut

microbiota range from self-limiting diarrhoea to life-threatening pseudomembranous colitis induced by bacteria filling the niche provided by the reduction in bacterial diversity [34]. The long-term consequences of such perturbations for the human–microbial symbiosis are more difficult to discern, but chronic conditions such as asthma and atopic disease have been associated with childhood antibiotic use Fludarabine manufacturer and an altered intestinal microbiota [35–37]. Because many chemical

transformations in the gut are mediated by specific microbial populations, with implications for, among others, cancer and obesity, changes in the composition of the gut microbiota could have important but undiscovered health effects. In this regard, ciprofloxacin treatment of healthy volunteers influenced the abundance of about a third of the bacterial taxa in the gut, decreasing the taxonomic richness, diversity and evenness of the community. However, the magnitude of this effect varied among individuals, and some taxa showed interindividual variation in the response to ciprofloxacin. In each individual, the taxonomic composition of the community closely resembled its pretreatment state by 4 weeks after the end of treatment, but several taxa failed to recover within 6 months [38]. The production of active anti-inflammatory mediators by particular commensal species (reviewed in [39]) provides a mechanistic framework for microbial regulation of pathology in the GI tract.

pneumoniae (13). Moreover cathelicidins, such as CRAMP and defensins, constitute two important families of antimicrobial peptides (4). The evidence indicates

that cathelicidins are also likely to possess anti-mycoplasmal Dorsomorphin research buy activity. In the present study, we examined the antimicrobial activity of CRAMP against M. pneumoniae and the expression of CRAMP in BALF of M. pneumoniae-infected mice. To this end, we developed a sandwich ELISA to quantitate CRAMP levels. CRAMP was found to exert antimicrobial activity in vitro against M. pneumoniae. High concentrations of CRAMP were detected in BALF of M. pneumoniae-infected mice. Neutrophils in BALF showed a fair amount of CRAMP in their cytoplasm and M. pneumoniae caused the release

of CRAMP find more from neutrophils. Thus, our results suggest that CRAMP plays a critical role in protection against M. pneumoniae infection in a murine model. Mycoplasma pneumoniae FH and M. pneumoniae M129, originally clinical isolates, were cultured in PPLO medium (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, MD, USA) as described previously (14). These strains were centrifuged for 10 min at 20,000 g and washed with PBS twice. Then the cells were suspended to a concentration of 1 × 108 CFU/mL in PBS and subsequently used for antimicrobial assays and infection of mice. Cathelin-related antimicrobial peptide (C-terminus peptide) was chemically synthesized by Bex (Tokyo, Japan). The amino acid sequence is as follows; GLLRKGGEKIGEKLKKIGQKIKNFFQKLVPQPE. Rabbit anti-CRAMP Ab was prepared by immunizing rabbits with KLH-conjugated CRAMP peptide emulsified in complete Freund’s adjuvant. Repeated boosts were carried out every two weeks four times. Then sera were obtained and a MAbTrap Kit (Amersham Biosciences, Uppsala, Sweden) was used to isolate the IgG fraction. Mycoplasma pneumoniae strains prepared as above were diluted to 2 × 105 mL in 10 mM SPB (pH 7.4) containing 0.03% Luria-Bertani broth. The strains were harvested from an exponential phase culture. A 25-μL aliquot of M. pneumoniae

was incubated with 25 μL of CRAMP at various concentrations for 3 hr at 37°C Paclitaxel manufacturer as previously described (13). The mixture of M. pneumoniae and CRAMP was serially diluted 10-fold with SPB and plated on PPLO agar plates. Mycoplasmal colonies were enumerated the following day. BALB/c mice (5 weeks old) (Kyudo, Tosu, Saga, Japan) were intranasally infected with 50 μL of M. pneumoniae M129 (5 × 107 CFU) in PBS. After 24 hr, 1 mL of PBS was injected into the bronchial tracts of the mice and BALF obtained from them as previously described (15). After centrifugation of BALF at 400 g for 5 min, the supernatants were used for measurement of CRAMP concentration, whereas the cells of the pellets were used for detection of intracellular CRAMP antigens. All experimental procedures on animals were reviewed and approved by the Kurume University School of Medicine Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

In their study, the number of respiratory see more tract infections prior to immunoglobulin treatment was significantly higher in the selective IgG3 deficiency group than in the group with selective IgG1 deficiency, but comparable to the number of infections in IgG2-deficient patients. Moreover, patients with IgG3 deficiency responded to treatment just as

well as did patients with deficiency of IgG1, IgG2 or combinations of subclasses. The researchers found that subcutaneous immunoglobulin prophylaxis reduced the frequency of respiratory tract infections from 6·045 episodes per year to only 2·258 episodes per year in patients with selective IgG3 deficiency [7]. The mechanism by which IVIG reduces infections in IgG3-deficient patients is due probably to passive transfer of specific antibodies against multiple pathogens, rather than simple replacement of IgG3. Barlan et al.[5] reported clinical improvement after administration

of IVIG devoid of IgG3. This would suggest that the normalization of IgG3 should not be the aim of IVIG therapy or for modifying the dosage of IVIG in patients with selective IgG3 deficiency. The effectiveness of Sotrastaurin ic50 IVIG therapy should be judged by clinical response. Popa et al.[12] suggested that the clinical effects of IVIG were due to its anti-inflammatory properties. This possibility was based upon their observation that a subgroup of patients who had recurrent respiratory infections, interstitial lung disease and isolated or combined deficiencies of IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 or IgG4 demonstrated improvement in symptoms, spirometry, and in radiological and histological findings after

treatment with IVIG. However, the majority of anti-inflammatory effects of IVIG are observed generally with higher immunomodulatory Fluorometholone Acetate doses of IVIG rather than with replacement dosage. In summary, our retrospective study of patients with selective IgG3 deficiency shows that selective IgG3 subclass deficiency should be considered in adults with recurrent upper respiratory tract infections with or without allergic rhinitis and asthma, and therefore IgG subclasses should be analysed even when total IgG levels are normal. Furthermore, this study suggests that a subset of patients with selective IgG3 deficiency have combined T and B cell defects. Patients with selective IgG3 deficiency respond clinically to IVIG treatment, and it should be incorporated as a standard of care therapy. A detailed study of cytokine and other components of the innate immune system is needed in a large cohort of patients with IgG3 subclass deficiency. We would like to thank our patients for their participation. The study was supported by the University of California, Irvine Division of Basic and Clinical Immunology. None.

Our data revealed that adding AFP resulted in inhibition of IL-12 production at the transcriptional level, not by decreased expression of TLRs. Although the regulation of transcription of IL-12p40 and IL-12p35

has been elucidated in various studies [23,24], the detailed mechanism of inhibition of IL-12 transcription by AFP remains unclear. Further study is needed to clarify the detailed mechanism of inhibition Selleck Palbociclib of IL-12 by AFP. Taken together, IL-12 might play a mainly essential role in the impairment of NK activity by AFP. To evaluate the possibility of involvement of other immunosuppressive cytokines inhibiting NK activity, we examined the IL-6 and IL-10 levels in the supernatants of the co-cultures of NK cells and AFP-DCs/Alb-DCs by specific ELISAs. IL-6 levels in the supernatants of AFP-DCs were similar to those of Alb-DCs, and IL-10 levels in the supernatants of

AFP-DCs were significantly lower than those of Alb-DCs (M. Yamamoto, unpublished data). These results suggest that the addition of AFP might impair the ability Selleck Lorlatinib of cytokine production of DCs. In a previous report, Um et al. demonstrated that AFP impairs the function of dendritic cells and induces their apoptosis [13]. In their report, they used the commercially available human cord blood AFP. Thus, we used human cord blood AFP because this is the only commercially available AFP. The carbohydrates of AFP are heterogeneous, which is reflected by differences in the binding of individual Tolmetin AFP molecules to lectins. Therefore, we also added the supernatants of Huh7 cells, AFP-producing HCC cells or control medium on the DCs and evaluated IL-12 production after LPS stimulation by specific ELISA. The supernatants of Huh7 cells contained AFP (1·76 µg/ml) and control medium contained no AFP. The IL-12 production of DCs co-cultured with the supernatants of Huh7 cells was significantly lower than that with control medium (M. Yamamoto, unpublished data). These results were consistent with the results using human cord blood AFP.

Although we cannot deny the possibility that unknown factors, except AFP, in the supernatants of Huh7 cell might affect the IL-12 production of DCs, these results suggest that another type of AFP might also have immunoregulatory ability on DCs. In this study, we demonstrate that AFP might down-regulate IL-12 production from DCs which inhibit NK activity. Zhang et al. demonstrated that IL-12 improves the cytotoxicity of NK cells via up-regulated expression of NKG2D on NK cells [25]. We have demonstrated previously that NKG2D expression on NK cells was down-regulated in the progression of chronic liver disease, including HCC [18], which suggested that NK activities were impaired in HCC patients. The expression of NKG2D on NK cells in HCC patients with high serum AFP was significantly lower than those in HCC patients with low serum AFP (M. Yamamoto, unpublished data).

003, Wilcoxon-test). Male-target cells pulsed with the control-peptide I540S did not influence T cell reactivity compared with naïve cells (I540S: 12–29/100,000; median: 23; P < 0.106 to P < 0.066). In vivo-primed female T cells recognized peptide-loaded T2-cells (W248: 85 ± 28/100,000 T cells; T368: 35 ± 12/100,000; K1234: 50 ± 17/100,000) being UTY-specific as indicated by Anti-MHC-I-antibody-blockage

(W248: 30 ± 10/100,000 T cells; T368: 26 ± 9/100,000; K1234: 10 ± 3/100,000; P < 0.026 to P < 0.018, Wilcoxon-test). In contrast, T2-cells alone or loaded with the I540S-control-peptide demonstrated only low unspecific-reactions (20–1/100,000 T cells, median: 9; P < 0.113 to P < 0.018, Wilcoxon-test). According to AZD3965 molecular weight the in vitro experiments (Table 2, Fig. 3) in vivo primed female T cells mostly reacted with male-BM (<45 specific-spots/100,000 CD3+T cells)

followed by monocytes (<29 spots) and PBMCs (<15 spots) and in vivo immunogenicity of the hUTY-peptides was comparable with those in vitro: W248 exhibited the most immunogenic potential on T2-cells (85 spots/100,000 T cells > K1234 (50 spots) >T368 (35 spots)). We provide evidence that hUTY-derived male-peptides specifically expand T lymphocytes derived from female-DLA-identical-dogs either using autologous-peptide-pulsed-female DCs as APC in vitro or male-DLA-identical PBMCs in vivo. The expanded female T cells recognized HLA-A2-binding hUTY-derived endogenously presented peptides W248, K1234 and T368 only on Inhibitor Library DLA-identical

male-cells (mostly BM) representing a male-specific restriction. Thereby, W248 appeared to be the most immunogenic-peptide. Importantly, no response against autologous- and female-DLA-identical cells, not expressing the male-specific-UTY antigen, was detected. Therefore, we conclude that the mHA UTY is very homologous Silibinin in male-humans and dogs, and the canine-system could serve as a large-animal model to study T cell applications in terms of immunotherapeutic approaches after alloSCT in male patients with female donors. Consequently hUTY-(especially W248)-pulsed female DCs might be used in male hematopoietic-SCT recipients with female stem-cell donors [3, 6, 7]. CD8+T cell-proliferation was induced up to 3-fold within 3–4 weeks (Fig. 1). After in vitro stimulation expanded CD8+T cells specifically reacted against the hUTY-derived peptides presented on autologous-female DCs in up to 3.1% of all T cells (IFN-γ-ELISPOT assay, Fig. 2), but not against autologous-naïve DCs and monocytes. This proves that HLA-A2-restricted peptides selected from human-UTY protein bind to canine-DLA-identical molecule(s), and these peptides are immunogenic in dogs and can induce UTY-specific T cell reactivity. Detected amounts of reactive-UTY-specific CD8+T cells after in vitro culture with IFN-γ-ELISPOT and [51Cr]-release-assays were comparable. This is in accordance with findings by others, although both the assays address different CTL-mechanisms [41].

Then, the locations of the toys were switched. Infants who were familiarized with the experimenter’s preference in the same room were surprised when the experimenter reached to the old location with the new object. In contrast, infants who received the goal preview in the other room did not show surprise when the experimenter reached for a new object in the testing room. A recent study has provided evidence for a strong effect of contextual change on 12-month-olds’ ability to comprehend a reference to an absent object (Osina, Saylor, & Ganea, 2013). In this study, infants played with a toy and

saw it being hidden in an ottoman (that they could see and approach easily). After a short delay, the experimenter talked to infants about the absent check details Akt inhibitor thing. Infants who had first been introduced to the toy in the experimental room responded to hearing a reference to the hidden toy by searching for the toy at its location. In contrast, infants who had been introduced to the toy outside of the experimental room (either at home or in an adjacent room)

did not indicate they understood the experimenter’s references by searching for the toy at its new location. In the latter case, infants did not have a continuous exposure to the object because they did not witness the object being transferred from one room to the other. Rather, the object was introduced in the reception room and then reintroduced in the experimental room where Ixazomib mouse it was hidden and later referred to in its absence.

One reason why changes in an object’s location interfere with infants’ learning or responses may have to do with the fact that when objects are introduced in one context and then reintroduced in another context, young infants cannot establish the identity of the object. Such difficulty may affect infants’ attentiveness during the study and disrupt their performance on subsequent tasks. To test this possibility, we adapted the paradigm used by Osina et al. (2013) to ask whether providing children with cues about the identity of the object would enable them to more easily recognize the test object when it reappeared in the experimental room. In one condition, infants were introduced to an object and its characteristic feature in the reception room and were reminded about the same, characteristic feature in the experimental room. The identifying feature provided infants with unambiguous evidence that the familiar object was the same one seen in the reception room. If infants’ difficulty locating the referent in Osina et al. (2013) was the result of their confusion about the object identity, highlighting the identifying feature in both locations should make it easier for infants to locate the referent when they hear it mentioned again.

However, the level was reduced in the low avidity cells. Averaged data are shown in Fig. 4(b). The total phospho-ERK1/2 level in unstimulated cells was similar between the lines. The kinetics of ERK phosphorylation in high and low avidity CTL suggested that high avidity CTL undergo more rapid phosphorylation of ERK1/2 compared with low avidity CTL. However, at 60 min, the amount of phospho-ERK present in high and low avidity cells was similar when evaluated under conditions where the threshold stimulatory peptide concentration was used (10−6 m for low avidity cells and 10−12 m

for high LY2835219 datasheet avidity cells). By 6 hr post-stimulation, the phospho-ERK1/2 signal had returned to baseline in both cell types (data not shown). The marked peptide concentration-dependent Sirolimus datasheet differences in ERK1/2 phosphorylation and calcium flux between the lines suggested that differences in the peptide sensitivity of high

versus low avidity cells was controlled at a more membrane proximal step in the TCR signal transduction cascade. The transmembrane adaptor protein LAT provides a central signalling nexus for activation through initiation of signalosome formation. This complex controls recruitment and activation of phospholipase C-γ1, phophoinositide 3 kinase, and Ras.6,7 We first determined whether total protein levels of LAT in high and low avidity CTL differed and found that this protein was present at equal levels in both CTL lines (Fig. 5a). To evaluate LAT activation, the high and low avidity CTL were stimulated with titrated concentrations of peptide. Phosphorylation of LAT at tyrosine 191 was quantified by intracellular staining. This analysis revealed a pattern similar to that for other molecules analysed in that high avidity CTL were able to induce phosphorylation at all concentrations of peptide used, whereas low avidity CTL exhibited statistically significant increases in LAT phosphorylation Thalidomide compared

with stimulation with APC in the absence of peptide only following exposure to APC pulsed with the highest amount of peptide (Fig. 5b,c, for clarification, the significance (*) shown on figure is comparing −5M and −9MCTL). These data suggested that differences in ERK1/2 signalling in high versus low avidity cells arose at a more membrane proximal step in TCR signalling. Tyrosine phosphorylation of ITAMs on the TCR-associated CD3 chains is one of the initial biochemical events detectable in T cells after TCR ligation.3 Phosphorylation at these sites allows ZAP-70 binding and activation, which then becomes competent for phosphorylation of LAT.37,38 To assess CD3ζ phosphorylation in high or low avidity CTL, cells were stimulated with APC bearing titrated concentrations of Ova257–264 peptide and CD3ζ immunoprecipitated at 10 or 60 min post-stimulation. The immunoprecipitates were subjected to SDS–PAGE and immunoblotted with anti-phosphotyrosine antibody. As evident from Fig.

Whether IRF1 is the major or the sole activator of IL-10 transcription in tumor-infiltrating Treg cells versus other cell populations is unknown. However, we noticed with great interest that Irf1 expression marks the signature of Treg cells obtained from the lamina JQ1 propria of the intestine, a Treg-cell compartment endowed with a well-known competence for IL-10 production 45. Very little information exists about a role for IRF1 in Treg-cell suppression.

The Foxp3 promoter contains IRF1-responsive elements, negatively regulating its transcription 46. However, we could not detect any Foxp3 downregulation in tumor-infiltrating compared with peripheral Treg cells, or in IL-10-producing versus IL-10-negative Treg cells. IRF1 is a transcription factor playing essential roles in Th1 differentiation, inducing IL-12Rβ1 in CD4+ T cells 44. Germane is the expression of IL-12Rβ1 in lamina propria Treg cells 45. The expression by Treg cells of a T helper-specific gene is not surprising. Indeed, recent reports demonstrate that Treg-cell subsets, expressing distinct BIBW2992 chemical structure Th-associated factors, selectively suppress the respective Th classes 47. Treg-cell-specific expression of the Th1 factor T-bet 48, or of miR146a restraining Stat1 activation 49,

are required for the optimal suppression of Th1 response. Similarly, IRF1 may represent a Th1-associated factor that, when expressed in Treg cells, dictates a program specifically directed to Th1 suppression, for instance through the IL-10 induction. We are tempted to speculate that IRF1 may represent a transcriptional regulator of the Treg-cell subset functionally oriented toward the suppression of Th1-cell responses in tumors. Through a still unknown signaling pathway, OX40 stimulation may block Treg-cell suppression at the tumor site by directly affecting the IRF1-driven program. Therefore, the effects of OX40 triggering in vivo may differ in peripheral compared with

tumor-infiltrating Treg cells, which express different levels of IRF1 and are likely governed Gefitinib price by different transcriptional programs. This observation may explain the higher anti-tumor efficacy of the intra-tumor compared with the systemic treatment with OX86 3. More importantly, our data support the notion that distinct Treg-cell subtypes, molecularly and functionally defined, can populate different body districts of healthy individuals as well as pathological tissues such as tumors 50. Future experiments will explore the role of IRF1 in Treg cells’ physiological and pathological role and will address whether and how the OX40 signaling pathway affects IRF1 expression at the protein level, thus compromising in Treg cells the IRF-1-driven program. A current topic is how the cytokine milieu influences Treg cells’ response to different stimuli.

Nitrite concentrations in fasting gastric juice are related inversely [30] to hydrogen ion concentrations; the nitrite concentration can

be increased up to 50-fold in the fasting gastric juice Selleck Sirolimus of subjects with pernicious anaemia [31]. Studies suggest that hypochlorhydria and achlorhydria favour bacterial overgrowth, including nitrate reducing strains, leading to the production of N-nitroso compounds [32] and progression from gastric atrophy to intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia and carcinoma. The role of pernicious anaemia as a risk factor for gastric carcinoma was determined by a meta-analysis of six studies, including 842 patients with pernicious anaemia followed for 7·8–15 years, which reported 58 cases of gastric cancer, equivalent to a fivefold increase in the risk of gastric cancer in these patients [33]. In a Swedish study, which followed 4517 patients with pernicious anaemia for a mean of 5·9 years, 102 (2·3%) patients developed gastric cancer, giving a standardized incidence ratio (SIR) of 2·9 (95% CI 2·4 −3·5). The risks of oesophageal carcinoma and gastric carcinoid were also increased [34]. A larger Swedish retrospective cohort study followed 21 265 patients hospitalized for pernicious anaemia for an average of 7·1 years. They found an increased risk of non-cardia gastric cancer in patients with pernicious anaemia, with a SIR of 2·4 (95% CI 2·1–2·7); they also found an increased risk of gastric carcinoid

and squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus [35]. It has been proposed that the same mechanism as that for Helicobacter may be involved [36,37]. An increased risk of gastric cancer Bioactive Compound Library in patients with CVIDs was recognized in 1985, when a prospective study of 220 patients with CVIDs followed for 11 years reported a 47-fold increased risk [36]. A multi-centre mafosfamide study using Scandinavian cancer and disease registries reported an SIR of 10·3 (95% CI 2·1–30·2) [10], but no increased risk in family members of patients with CVIDs. This suggests that

the increased risk of gastric cancer in CVIDs relates to the immunodeficiency rather than to genetic traits or H. pylori virulence shared with relatives [10]. There are some reports of gastric cancer presenting at a young age in patients with CVIDs [7,9]. Nevertheless, outcome studies of large CVID cohorts followed for medians of 11 and 7 years, respectively, found only four cases of gastric carcinoma in 472 patients [38,39], indicating that the absolute risk is low (about 1% per decade). A recent study from Australia [40] showed an even lower SIR of 6·1 (95% CI 1·26–17·84). While variability in prevalence from different locations is not surprising [5], the considerable differences, especially over time, suggest that environmental factors are important. The mechanisms underlying an increased frequency of gastric cancer in CVIDs are not understood. Specific antibodies have been shown to kill H.

For intracellular staining BAY 57-1293 mw of GM-CSF, isolated leukocytes were incubated with 50 ng/mL PMA, 500 ng/mL ionomycin, Golgi-Plug (1 μL/mL) containing brefeldin A in RPMI-1640 at 37°C for 4 h. Thereafter,

cells were stained with rat antimouse CD4-FITC, rat antimouse CD45-V450, fixed and permeabilized with Cytofix/Cytoperm (BD), and stained with rat antimouse GM-CSF-PE (BD). Apoptotic and dead CD4+ T cells were detected by staining with 7-AAD and CD4-allophycocyanin. Fas expression on CD4+ T cells was analyzed by staining with hamster antimouse Fas-PE and CD4-FITC. Controls were stained with isotype-matched control antibodies. All antibodies and reagents were obtained from BD Biosciences (Heidelberg, Germany) unless otherwise mentioned. Flow cytometry was performed on a FACScan (BD Biosciences), and the data were analyzed with WinMDI or Cell Quest software. Primary astrocytes find more were isolated from 1- to 2-day-old newborn mice and cultured as published before [43]. To obtain pure astrocytes, cells were harvested from astrocyte cultures and stained with rat antimouse CD11b-PE. Pure astrocytes (CD11b−) were then separated from CD11b+ microglia with a FACSVantage cell sorter (BD). Neuronal cultures were obtained according to Lenz et al. [44]

with slight modifications. Briefly, pregnant female mice were sacrificed by cervical dislocation at gestational day 18.5, and dissociated cells of each embryonic brain were cultivated in flasks coated with poly-L-lysine in Neurobasal medium supplemented with B27 (Invitrogen) and 500 μM L-glutamine (Gibco). The purity of cultures for neurons was ≥98%, as determined by immunofluorescence

staining for Non-specific serine/threonine protein kinase neuron-specific class III β-tubulin. DNA was isolated from sorted astrocytes and microglia, respectively, as well as from cultured neurons using a DNA isolation kit (Qiagen, Germany). For the detection of FasL expressed on the surface of astrocytes, mixed astrocyte/microglia cultures were stained with mouse antimouse FasL-PE and CD11b-FITC. Controls were stained with isotype-matched control antibodies. For histology on paraffin sections, mice anesthetized with methoxyflurane were perfused with 0.1 M PBS followed by 4% paraformaldehyde in PBS, spinal cords were processed and stained with hemalum and eosin, cresyl violet, and luxol fast blue. In addition, paraffin sections were used for immunohistochemical demonstration of GFAP, neurofilament, Mac3, and CD3 (Serotec, Düsseldorf, Germany) by an ABC protocol as described [45]. Total mRNA was isolated from the spinal cords of nonimmunized and MOG35–55- immunized mice (RNeasy kit, Qiagen, Germany) at day 15 and day 22 p.i., respectively. SuperScript reverse transcriptase kit with oligo (dT) primers (Invitrogen, Germany) was used to generate cDNA from total mRNA.