title: Translational utility of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis: recent developments.
abstract: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex autoimmune condition with firmly established genetic and environmental components. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed a large number of genetic polymorphisms in the vicinity of, and within, genes that associate to disease. However, the significance of these single-nucleotide polymorphisms in disease and possible mechanisms of action remain, with a few exceptions, to be established. While the animal model for MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), has been instrumental in understanding immunity in general and mechanisms of MS disease in particular, much of the translational information gathered from the model in terms of treatment development (glatiramer acetate and natalizumab) has been extensively summarized. In this review, we would thus like to cover the work done in EAE from a GWAS perspective, highlighting the research that has addressed the role of different GWAS genes and their pathways in EAE pathogenesis. Understanding the contribution of these pathways to disease might allow for the stratification of disease subphenotypes in patients and in turn open the possibility for new and individualized treatment approaches in the future.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Unit, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Andre Ortlieb
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Guerreiro-Cacais
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Unit, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Hannes
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Laaksonen
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Unit, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sevasti
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Flytzani
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Unit, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: N'diaye
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Unit, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Unit, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jagodic
keywords: EAE; autoimmunity; knockouts; multiple sclerosis; pathways; risk genes