Figure 8.

Cooperative effects of dietary vitamin D and IFN-β treatments in attenuation of EAE. On day 0, EAE was induced by immunization with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) p35-55 in C57BL/6 mice and scored daily for degree of paralysis. On day 5, the diet was changed to 20 IU vitamin D/g diet or left at 1.5 IU vitamin D/g diet. On day 7, treatment with IFN-β (a first line treatment for multiple sclerosis) was initiated and continued every other day through day 16. The combination of high-dose vitamin D and IFN-β was more effective than high dietary vitamin D alone or IFN-β alone in diminishing paralysis in EAE (R. Axtell, L. Steinman, and S. Christakos, unpublished data).