Brief Communication abstract


Nature Medicine 13, 1173 - 1175 (2007)
Published online: 9 September 2007 | doi:10.1038/nm1651

Human TH17 lymphocytes promote blood-brain barrier disruption and central nervous system inflammation

Hania Kebir1, Katharina Kreymborg2, Igal Ifergan1, Aurore Dodelet-Devillers1, Romain Cayrol1, Monique Bernard1, Fabrizio Giuliani3, Nathalie Arbour1, Burkhard Becher2 & Alexandre Prat1

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TH17 lymphocytes appear to be essential in the pathogenesis of numerous inflammatory diseases. We demonstrate here the expression of IL-17 and IL-22 receptors on blood-brain barrier endothelial cells (BBB-ECs) in multiple sclerosis lesions, and show that IL-17 and IL-22 disrupt BBB tight junctions in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, TH17 lymphocytes transmigrate efficiently across BBB-ECs, highly express granzyme B, kill human neurons and promote central nervous system inflammation through CD4+ lymphocyte recruitment.

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  1. Neuroimmunology Unit, Center for the Study of Brain Diseases, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal–Notre-Dame Hospital, 1560 Sherbrooke Street East, Montreal, Quebec H2L 4M1, Canada.
  2. Neurology Department, Division of Neuroimmunology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
  3. Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G3, Canada.

Correspondence to: Alexandre Prat1 e-mail: a.prat@umontreal.ca



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