Tumor necrosis factor-α in Guillain-Barré syndrome, friend or foe?
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an immune-mediated disorder in the peripheral nervous system (PNS), and experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN) serves as an animal model of GBS. TNF-α plays an important role in the pathogenesis of GBS and is a potential therapeutic target of GBS. Areas covered: 'TNF-α' and 'Guillain-Barré syndrome' were the keywords used to search for related publications on Pubmed. By binding to different TNF receptors, TNF-α bears distinct immune properties. TNF-α gene polymorphisms are associated with the features of GBS. The major role of TNF-α in GBS/EAN is to aggravate inflammation; however, data from several studies indicated a protective role of TNF-α. Multiple lines of evidence point to TNF-α as a potential therapeutic target for GBS. However, such clinical trials are scarce in that GBS per se is a probable side effect of anti-TNF-α treatment. Expert opinion: TNF-α plays a dual role in GBS and EAN, and is a potential therapeutic target on GBS/EAN.
a Neuroscience Center, Department of Neurology , the First Hospital of Jilin University , Changchun , China.
Ying
Y
Wang
a Neuroscience Center, Department of Neurology , the First Hospital of Jilin University , Changchun , China.
Jingdian
J
Zhang
b Norman Bethune Health Science Center , Jilin University , Changchun , China.
Peijuan
P
Luo
a Neuroscience Center, Department of Neurology , the First Hospital of Jilin University , Changchun , China.|c Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society , Karolinska Institute , Stockholm , Sweden.
Jie
J
Zhu
a Neuroscience Center, Department of Neurology , the First Hospital of Jilin University , Changchun , China.
Jiachun
J
Feng
a Neuroscience Center, Department of Neurology , the First Hospital of Jilin University , Changchun , China.
Hong-Liang
HL
Zhang
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D020275:Guillain-Barre Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009444:Neuritis, Autoimmune, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Experimental autoimmune neuritis; Guillain-Barré syndrome; TNF-α; therapeutic target