T. Fushimi et al., THE EFFECT OF PENTOXIFYLLINE (PTX) ON THEILERS MURINE ENCEPHALOMYELITIS VIRUS (TMEV)-INDUCED DEMYELINATING DISEASE, Cellular immunology (Print), 186(2), 1998, pp. 140-146
Pentoxifylline (PTX) has been recently shown to have a variety of immu
nomodulatory effects. PTX suppresses the production of tumor necrosis
factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and T helper type 1 (Th1) cytokine, interfero
n-gamma (IFN-gamma), whereas it increases the production of Th2 cytoki
nes, such as interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-10. In the pathogenesis of Th
eiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV)-induced demyelinating di
sease (TMEV-IDD), encephalitogenic Th1 cells may play a major role. We
examined the effect of PTX treatment on TMEV-IDD. We treated SJL/J mi
ce, inoculated TMEV intracerebrally, with either PTX or saline from da
ys -2 to 12 and days 14 to 27 postintracerebral infection. In the grou
p of mice treated with PTX from days -2 to 12, the onset of TMEV-IDD w
as suppressed. On the other hand, in the group of mice treated with PT
X from days 14 to 27 or saline, the onset of TMEV-IDD was not inhibite
d. The results of enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay of spleen c
ells of mice showed that the production of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma was
significantly inhibited (TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma, P < 0.001) and IL-4
and IL-10 production was significantly increased (IL-4, P < 0.001; an
d IL-10, P < 0.05, respectively) in the group of mice treated with PTX
from days -2 to 12. These findings suggest that PTX suppresses the on
set of TMEV-IDD by suppressing the production of TNF-alpha and modulat
ing Th1-dominant immune responses into Th2-dominant ones. (C) 1998 Aca
demic Press.