title: Immunology of neuromyelitis optica: a T cell-B cell collaboration.
abstract: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a debilitating autoimmune inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that is distinct from multiple sclerosis (MS). The discovery of NMO-immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the serum of NMO-but not MS-patients was a breakthrough in defining diagnostic criteria for NMO. NMO-IgG is an antibody directed against the astrocytic water channel protein aquaporin-4 (AQP4). While there is evidence that NMO-IgG is also involved in mediating tissue damage in the CNS, many aspects of the pathogenic cascade in NMO remain to be determined. It is clear that antigen-specific T cells contribute to the generation of NMO-IgG in the peripheral immune compartment, as well as to the development of NMO lesions in the CNS. T helper 17 (Th17) cells, equipped both in providing B cell help and inducing tissue inflammation, may be involved in NMO development and pathogenesis. Here, we review immunologic aspects of NMO, placing recent findings in the biology of T-B cell cooperation into perspective with autoimmunity of the CNS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Meike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mitsdoerffer
authors.forename: Vijay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kuchroo
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Korn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D008211:Lymphocyte Cooperation / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D009471:Neuromyelitis Optica / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*