title: Oral administration of type I interferon modulates the course of experimental allergic neuritis.
abstract: We investigated the effect of oral administration of type I interferon (IFN) in experimental allergic neuritis (EAN) in Lewis rats immunized with bovine peripheral nerve myelin. Starting at 7 days preceding immunization, rats were fed daily until sacrifice either with 5000 U rat IFN-alpha/beta or mock-IFN. The clinical severity of EAN was significantly reduced in IFN-alpha/beta fed animals compared to mock-IFN fed controls. Demyelination, but not inflammation, was decreased in IFN-alpha/beta fed compared to mock-IFN fed rats at day 20 after immunization. In situ IFN-gamma production and inflammation were reduced when evaluated by immunocytochemistry at day 13 after immunization. Spleen cells from IFN-alpha/beta fed compared to mock-IFN fed EAN rats showed significantly reduced proliferation to stimulation with Con A or peripheral nerve myelin. IFN-gamma production in draining lymph node cells was significantly reduced after stimulation with bovine peripheral nerve myelin. Our data suggest that oral administration of IFN-alpha/beta reduces the severity of EAN, possibly by a reduction in IFN-gamma production.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston 77030, USA.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Vriesendorp
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Flynn
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pappolla
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Brod
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005260:Female; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D009444:Neuritis, Autoimmune, Experimental / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D007370:Interferon Type I; D007371:Interferon-gamma