Publications by authors named "Ingrid Gienapp"
Article Synopsis
- Chronic inflammation is linked to various diseases, and managing this inflammation is crucial for controlling diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS).
- Estrogen, particularly estriol (E3), plays a significant role in modulating immune responses, influencing immune cells and reducing inflammation, especially during pregnancy.
- E3 enhances the function of dendritic cells (DCs) to create a protective immune environment, which could lead to new therapies for autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, debilitating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by demyelination and axon loss. The proinflammatory cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been shown to be elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients during relapses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a new small-molecule inhibitor of MIF and its ability to reduce the severity of an animal model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).
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- * Research using an animal model (EAE) indicates that pregnancy reduces the likelihood and severity of MS-like symptoms when immunization occurs during this time, whereas symptoms worsen if immunization happens postpartum.
- * The study found that pregnant mice had lower levels of inflammatory cytokines like TNF-alpha and IL-17 compared to non-pregnant mice, suggesting that pregnancy creates a protective immune environment rather than simply suppressing the immune response.
Article Synopsis
- * Researchers tracked MBP-specific T cells using a fluorescent dye and found that these T cells moved to lymphoid tissues and Peyer's patches (PP) after MBP feeding, showing signs of proliferation and activation.
- * The findings suggest that administering autoantigens like MBP orally boosts MCP-1 in the gut, initiates early T cell movement and activation, and leads to the deletion of autoreactive T
Article Synopsis
- Dendritic cells (DCs) are crucial for linking the innate and adaptive immune responses, particularly in stimulating naïve T cells and managing autoimmune diseases.
- The study explores the differences between murine and human fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (mFL and hFL) in expanding DC populations, revealing that mFL-generated DCs resemble normal resting DCs more than their hFL counterparts.
- Findings indicate that while mFL and hFL equally expand DCs in vivo, mFL-derived bone marrow DCs are less mature but can become immunogenic and worsen the symptoms of a model autoimmune disease called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates how oral administration of myelin proteins can prevent and treat experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and the role of the thymus in this process.
- Euthymic (normal thymus) mice show protection from EAE when fed myelin basic protein (MBP), while thymectomized mice (those without a thymus) do not exhibit this protection and have increased Th1 responses.
- The findings indicate that the thymus is crucial for the induction of regulatory T cells, which are necessary for suppressing immune responses and preventing EAE, highlighting the importance of thymus functionality in oral tolerance mechanisms.
Article Synopsis
- - Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is linked to inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, specifically its role in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).
- - Research using MIF-/- mice (mice lacking MIF) showed they had a different disease progression than normal mice, showing acute symptoms but not advancing further.
- - MIF-/- mice had higher levels of corticosterone and lower levels of key inflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-6), suggesting that MIF is critical for EAE progression by influencing stress hormone responses and the body's inflammatory reaction.
Article Synopsis
- Mice can be protected from EAE when they consume myelin basic protein (MBP).
- Thymectomized mice, which have had their thymus removed, do not show oral tolerance to MBP.
- The thymus plays a dual role in oral tolerance by deleting autoreactive T cells and producing regulatory T cells.
The oral administration of neuroantigens can suppress as well as treat autoimmune disease. Using EAE as a model system, we examined the antigen-presenting cell in oral tolerance. Expansion of dendritic cells (DCs) prior to or after disease is established facilitated oral tolerance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMultiple sclerosis (MS) is more prevalent in women than men. We evaluated seven different mouse strains commonly used in the study of autoimmune diseases, for sex differences in the disease course of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Greater severity of EAE was observed in the female SJL immunized with two different peptides of myelin proteolipid protein (PLP) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) as well as in the female ASW relative to males.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe B7:CD28/CTLA-4 costimulatory pathway plays a critical role in regulating the immune response and thus provides an ideal target for therapeutic manipulation of autoimmune disease. Previous studies have shown that blockade of CD28 signaling by mAbs can both prevent and exacerbate experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). In this study, we have designed two CD28 peptide mimics that selectively block B7:CD28 interactions.
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- Two strains of transgenic mice with specific T cell receptors were studied for their response to myelin basic protein, particularly focusing on one strain (Valpha2.3/Vbeta8.2) known to easily develop spontaneous experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (sEAE).
- The Valpha2.3/Vbeta8.2 mice displayed higher levels of certain T cell activation markers and more vigorous immune responses to myelin basic protein compared to the other strain (Valpha4/Vbeta8.2), which produced different cytokines like IL-4 and TGF-beta.
- Increased levels of specific chemokines in the central nervous system of Valpha2.3/Vbeta8.2 mice suggest that activated immune
Article Synopsis
- Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is driven by CD4+ T cells, particularly those using the Vbeta8.2 TCR in response to myelin basic protein (MBP).
- Two specific transgenic (Tg) mouse strains, Valpha2.3/Vbeta8.2 and Valpha4/Vbeta8.2, have T cell receptors that respond to a key epitope of MBP, and previous research showed that oral MBP can prevent EAE in both.
- Current findings reveal differences in immune responses and cell activation between the two strains, especially regarding the presence of activated Tg T cells and regulatory cells in the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), which may