INHIBITION OF EXPERIMENTAL AUTOIMMUNE NEURITIS BY THE IMMUNOMODULATORLINOMIDE

Experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN) is an animal model that shares clinical, pathological and electrophysiological features with the huma n disease Guillain-Barre syndrome. The synthetic immunomodulatory subs tance linomide has been successfully used to prevent the development o f several experimental autoimmune models in laboratory animals and has been proved to be beneficial in modulating the course of multiple scl erosis in humans. In the present study we demonstrate that oral admini stration of linomide prevents the development of clinical and histopat hological signs of EAN in Lewis rats, inoculated with the P2 (60-70) s ynthetic peptide. The immunomodulatory effect of linomide on this expe rimental model of disease was associated with marked apoptosis of lymp hocytes in thymus and spleen early after starting the treatment. Furth ermore, a downregulation of the endothelial expression of the adhesion molecules ICAM-1 at the target site and LFA-1 on lymphocytes could al so contribute to the absence of inflammatory cells in the neuraxis. (C ) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.