Apoptosis in multiple sclerosis - etiopathogenetic relevance and perspectives for new therapeutic strategies

Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a physiological cell suicide progra m mainly leading to selective elimination of useless cells. This mechanism is important for the homeostasis of the immune system and presumably plays a two-sided role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). On the one hand, evidence has been provided that impaired apoptosis might result in i ncreased numbers or persistence of activated myelin-specifier cells, thus i nducing the pathophysiologic processes in MS. On the other hand, local tiss ue damage might involve apoptosis of glial and neuronal cells and lead to t he clinical symptoms. Here, an overview is presented on the current knowled ge of the role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of MS, and implications for related therapeutic strategies are discussed.