Experimental autoimmune encephalo myelitis: Cytokines, effector T cells, and antigen-presenting cells in a prototypical Th1-mediated autoimmune disease

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is widely depicted as the prototypical CD4+ ThI-mediated autoimmune disease. Microglia and perivascular macrophages are believed to act as antigen-presenting cells during the effector phase of EAE. In this article, recent data that challenge these conceptions are reviewed. Several recent studies have shown that myelin-reactive CD8+ T cells can mediate inflammatory demyelination. Furthermore, dendritic-like cells have been detected in EAE lesions and implicated in encephalitogenic T cell activation. Although Thl polarizing monokines, such as interleukin-12 (IL-12) and possibly IL-23, are critical for the manifestation of EAE, individual Thl effector cytokines were found to be dispensible.