Small-molecule antagonist of VLA-4 (GW559090) attenuated neuro-inflammation by targeting Th17 cell trafficking across the blood-retinal barrier in experimental autoimmune uveitis

BACKGROUND: The integrin VLA-4 (α4β1) plays an important role in leukocyte trafficking. This study investigated the efficacy of a novel topical α4β1 integrin inhibitor (GW559090, GW) in a mouse model for non-infectious posterior uveitis (experimental autoimmune uveitis; EAU) and its effect on intraocular leukocyte subsets. METHODS: Mice (female; B10.RIII or C57Bl/6; aged 6-8 weeks) were immunized with specific interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) peptides to induce EAU. Topically administered GW (3, 10, and 30 mg/ml) were given twice daily either therapeutically once disease was evident, or prophylactically, and compared with vehicle-treated (Veh) and 0.1% dexamethasone-treated (Dex) controls. Mice were sacrificed at peak disease. The retinal T cell subsets were investigated by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining. The immune cells within the retina, blood, and draining lymph nodes (dLNs) were phenotyped by flow cytometry. The effect of GW559090 on non-adherent, adherent, and migrated CD4+ T cell subsets across a central nervous system (CNS) endothelium was further assayed in vitro and quantitated by flow cytometry. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in clinical and histological scores in GW10- and Dex-treated groups as compared to controls either administered therapeutically or prophylactically. There were fewer CD45+ leukocytes infiltrating the retinae and vitreous fluids in the treated GW10 group (P < 0.05). Immunofluorescence staining and flow cytometry data identified decreased levels of retinal Th17 cells (P ≤ 0.001) in the GW10-treated eyes, leaving systemic T cell subsets unaffected. In addition, fewer Ly6C+ inflammatory monocyte/macrophages (P = 0.002) and dendritic cells (P = 0.017) crossed the BRB following GW10 treatment. In vitro migration assays confirmed that Th17 cells were selectively suppressed by GW559090 in adhering to endothelial monolayers. CONCLUSIONS: This α4β1 integrin inhibitor may exert a modulatory effect in EAU progression by selectively blocking Th17 cell migration across the blood-retinal barrier without affecting systemic CD4+ T cell subsets. Local α4β1 integrin-directed inhibition could be clinically relevant in treating a Th17-dominant form of uveitis

Tear Cytokine Levels in Contact Lens Wearers With Acanthamoeba Keratitis

PURPOSE: To determine differences in key tear film cytokines between mild and severe cases of acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) and control contact lens (CL) wearers. METHODS: This was a prospective study of CL wearers with AK attending Moorfields Eye Hospital and control CL wearers from the Institute of Optometry, London. Basal tear specimens were collected by 10-μL capillary tubes (BLAUBRAND intraMark, Wertheim, Germany), and tear protein levels were measured with a multiplex magnetic bead array (Luminex 100; Luminex Corporation, Austin, TX) for cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17A, IL-17E, IL-17F, IL-22, and interferon gamma and with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Abcam, Cambridge, United Kingdom) for CXCL2. Severe cases of AK were defined as having active infection for over 12 months and at least 1 severe inflammatory event. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-two tear samples were collected from a total of 61 cases (15 severe and 46 mild–moderate) and 22 controls. IL-8, part of the Toll-like receptor 4 cytokine cascade, was found to be expressed at a detectable level more often in cases of AK than in control CL wearers (P = 0.003) and in higher concentrations in severe cases than in milder forms of the disease (z = −2.35). IL-22, part of the IL-10 family, and a proinflammatory Th17 cytokine, was detected more often in severe cases than in milder forms of AK (P < 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Profiling patients with AK during disease shows differences in cytokine levels between severe and milder disease that may inform clinical management. The Toll-like receptor 4 and IL-10/Th17 inflammatory pathways should be included in further investigations of this disease

Anti-Allergic Cromones Inhibit Histamine and Eicosanoid Release from Activated Human and Murine Mast Cells by Releasing Annexin A1

PMCID: PMC3601088This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Activation marker expression on the peripheral blood lymphocytes of normal volunteers, recipients of Interleukin 2 and patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation

Contains fulltext : 27171___.PDF (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Multiplex cytokine detection versus ELISA for aqueous humor: IL-5, IL-10, and IFN gamma profiles in uveitis

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine levels of IL-2, -4, -5, -10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ in aqueous humor (AH) from patients with active panuveitis, anterior uveitis (AU), and noninflammatory controls by using a flow cytometric mutiplex array (CBA) and to compare with results from ELISA. Methods. Pooled normal AH was spiked with six cytokines at decreasing concentrations for evaluating the CBA. AH was also obtained from 10 controls (cataract patients) and 36 patients with active uveitis. Cell-free supernatants were added to a cocktail of capture beads and detector antibodies or to antibody-coated wells for CBA and ELISA determination, respectively. Results. CBA demonstrated greater sensitivity for detecting IL-4, IL-10, and TNF-α than with ELISA. Increased IFN-γ was detected in both AU and panuveitis groups compared with controls (P < 0.01). IL-10 was higher in the panuveitis group on steroids (P < 0.01). IL-5 was detected in the control (P < 0.01) and AU groups (P < 0.05) but was undetectable in the panuveitis group (n = 10). Correlations between IFN-γ and IL-10 were found in all uveitis groups (P < 0.01) but not in controls, whereas TNF-α correlations with IL-4/IFN-γ were obtained in controls but not in the uveitis groups (P < 0.01). Conclusions. It was possible to measure cytokines titrated into normal AH specimens by CBA, and a greater number of cytokines were detected with increased sensitivity than with ELISA. Elevated IFN-γ in active uveitis and decreased IL-5 in posterior uveitis suggest Th1 polarity is more marked, with greater uveal tract involvement. The increased IL-10 in the steroid treated group suggests glucocorticoid-induced IL-10 upregulation.Kenneth G.-J. Ooi, Grazyna Galatowicz, Hamish M. A. Towler, Susan L. Lightman, and Virginia L. Calde

Functionally distinct IFN-γ⁺ IL-17A⁺ Th cells in experimental autoimmune uveitis: T-cell heterogeneity, migration, and steroid response

Immunopathogenic roles for both Th1 (CD4^{+} IFN-γ^{+}) and Th17 (CD4^{+} IL-17A^{+}) cells have been demonstrated in experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU). However, the role for Th17/Th1 (CD4^{+} T cells co-expressing IFN-γ and IL-17A) cells in EAU is not yet understood. Using interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein peptide-induced EAU in mice, we found increased levels of Th17/Th1 cells in EAU retinae (mean 9.6 ± 4.2%) and draining LNs (mean 8.4 ± 3.9%; p = 0.01) relative to controls. Topical dexamethasone treatment effectively reduced EAU severity and decreased retinal Th1 cells (p = 0.01), but had no impact on retinal Th17/Th1 or Th17 cells compared to saline controls. Using in vitro migration assays with mouse CNS endothelium, we demonstrated that Th17/Th1 cells were significantly increased within the migrated population relative to controls (mean 15.6 ± 9.5% vs. 1.9 ± 1.5%; p = 0.01). Chemokine receptor profiles of Th17/Th1 cells (CXCR3 and CCR6) did not change throughout the transendothelial migration process and were unaffected by dexamethasone treatment. These findings support a role for Th17/Th1 cells in EAU and their resistance to steroid inhibition suggests the importance of targeting both Th17 and Th17/Th1 cells for improving therapy