The effect of calcitriol and all-trans retinoic acid on T-bet, IFN-γ, GATA3 and IL-4 genes expression in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease which affects the central nervous system (CNS). In the present study, the in vivo effects of ATRA, calcitriol, and their combinations on the expression of murine CD4+ T cell cytokines and their specific transcription factors in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE)-induced mice were explored. Thirty-two EAE induced inbred C57BL/6 female mice with an age ranged from 8 to 10 weeks were divided into four categories in a random manner. The first, second, and third groups received ATRA, calcitriol, ATRA+ calcitriol, respectively, and the fourth group received vehicle. The treatment started on the day prior to immunization and through the IP injections every other days for 21 days. The dosages of administration for calcitriol, ATRA, and calcitriol+ ATRA were 100 ng, 250 μg, and 50ng + 125 μg, respectively per mouse. An equal volume of excipient was administered for the vehicle group. T-bet, IFN-γ, GATA-3, and IL-4 genes expression were assessed in the splenocytes of EAE -induced mice. The expression of T-bet and IFN-γ genes in the splenocytes of ATRA, calcitriol and combination- treated mice were significantly reduced compared to vehicle group (p < 0.05). A significant decrease in T-bet expression was observed in the combination-treated group compared to the ATRA-treated group (p < 0.05). The expression of GATA3 and IL-4 genes was significantly increased in the ATRA-, calcitriol-, and combination-treated mice when compared with the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the effect of calcitriol alone and in combination with ATRA was more considerable than that of ATRA alone. The nutraceutical approaches may be promising in the prevention and/or treatment of MS. © 2020 APMIS. Published by John Wiley & Sons Lt