免疫学

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), which is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS). It is characterized by focal demyelination and inflammatory responses mediated by myelin-specific autoreactive CD4⁺ T cells. Using a passive transfer model of EAE in mice, we have demonstrated that regional specific neural signals by sensory-sympathetic communications create gateways for immune cells at specific blood vessels of the CNS, a phenomenon known as the gateway reflex (Arima et al., 2012; Tracey, 2012; Arima et al., 2013; Sabharwal et al., 2014; Arima et al., 2015b). Here we describe protocols for passive transfer model of EAE using freshly isolated (MOG)-specific CD4⁺ T cells or periodically restimulated MOG-specific CD4⁺ T cell lines, which are suitable for tracking pathogenic CD4⁺ T cells in vivo, particularly in the CNS (Ogura et al., 2008; Arima et al., 2012 and 2015b).