Protective autoimmunity is a physiological response to CNS trauma.

Primary damage caused by injury to the CNS is often followed by delayed degeneration of initially spared neurons. Studies in our laboratory have shown that active or passive immunization with CNS myelin-associated self-antigens can reduce this secondary loss. Here we show, using four experimental paradigms in rodents, that CNS trauma spontaneously evokes a beneficial T cell-dependent immune response, which reduces neuronal loss.

Delivery of cytokines by liposomes. III. Liposome-encapsulated GM-CSF and TNF-alpha show improved pharmacokinetics and biological activity and reduced toxicity in mice.

In an attempt to potentiate the therapeutic index of cytokines, recombinant mouse granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and recombinant human tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) were encapsulated in large (0.3-2.2 microns) multilamellar vesicles composed of various lipids, using several encapsulation methods.