Y. Matsumoto et al., ROLE OF NATURAL-KILLER-CELLS AND TCR-GAMMA-DELTA T-CELLS IN ACUTE AUTOIMMUNE ENCEPHALOMYELITIS, European Journal of Immunology, 28(5), 1998, pp. 1681-1688
To elucidate the role of NK cells and TCR gamma delta(+) T cells in ac
ute experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced in Lewis r
ats, the distribution, number and function of these cells were studied
using several methods. Immunohistochemical and flow cytometric analys
is revealed that a certain number of NK cells (17% of the total inflam
matory cells) infiltrated the central nervous system (CNS) at the peak
stage of EAE and were mainly located in the perivascular region. On t
he other hand, virtually no TCR gamma delta(+) T cells were found in t
he CNS. NK-T (NKR-P1(+)TCR alpha beta(+)) cells were few and did not i
ncrease in number in the CNS and lymphoid organs. In the cytotoxic ass
ay using YAC-1 cells, effector cells isolated from the spleen of rats
at the peak of EAE showed essentially the same cytotoxicity as those i
solated from normal controls although the total number of NK cells dec
reased to one fifth of that of normal rats. Furthermore, in vivo admin
istration of anti-NK cell (3.2.3 and anti-asialo GM1), but not of anti
-TCR gamma delta (V65), antibodies exacerbated the clinical features o
f EAE and induced fatal EAE in some rats. These findings suggest that
NK cells play a suppressive role in acute EAE whereas TCR gamma delta(
+) T cells are not involved in the development of or recovery from the
disease.