Abstract
Central nervous system (CNS) delivery of anti-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin 4 (IL4), holds promise as treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). We have previously shown that short-term herpes simplex virus type 1-mediated IL4 gene therapy is able to inhibit experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS, in mice and non-human primates. Here, we show that a single administration of an IL4-expressing helper-dependent adenoviral vector (HD-Ad) into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulation of immunocompetent mice allows persistent transduction of neuroepithelial cells and long-term (up to 5 months) CNS transgene expression without toxicity. Mice affected by chronic and relapsing EAE display clinical and neurophysiological recovery from the disease once injected with the IL4-expressing HD-Ad vector. The therapeutic effect is due to the ability of IL4 to increase, in inflamed CNS areas, chemokines (CCL1, CCL17 and CCL22) capable of recruiting regulatory T cells (CD4+CD69−CD25+Foxp3+) with suppressant functions. CSF delivery of HD-Ad vectors expressing anti-inflammatory molecules might represent a valuable therapeutic option for CNS inflammatory disorders.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by grants from the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (FISM), the Myelin Project, the Cariplo Foundation and the Italian Ministry of Education and Scientific Research (MIUR-FIRB). We acknowledge the technical help of V Lampasona, C Porcheri and L Muzio.
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Butti, E., Bergami, A., Recchia, A. et al. IL4 gene delivery to the CNS recruits regulatory T cells and induces clinical recovery in mouse models of multiple sclerosis. Gene Ther 15, 504–515 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/gt.2008.10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/gt.2008.10
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