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. 2002 Feb 11;7(6):839–843. doi: 10.1016/0952-7915(95)80057-3

Apoptosis in brain-specific autoimmune disease

Jan Bauer a, Hartmut Wekerle b, Hans Lassmann a
PMCID: PMC7135830  PMID: 8679129

Abstract

Recent neuropathological studies of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis have focused attention on the high number of cells in the lesions that show typical morphological features of apoptosis. Surprisingly, it has turned out that the vast majority of apoptotic cells are T lymphocytes and that they actually represent the antigen-specific T-cell population responsible for the induction of the disease. Taken together, these data suggest that clearance of autoimmune inflammation in the nervous system is accomplished by the destruction of the antigen-specific T-cell population within the lesions. This may explain the low level of central nervous system specific T-cell memory formation, as well as previously unexplained phenomena of ‘epitope spreading’, in autoimmune inflammation of the nervous system

Abbreviations: APC—antigen-presenting cell, CNS—central nervous system, EAE—experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, IL—interleukin, MBP—myelin basic protein, TCR—T-cell receptor, TGF—transforming growth factor, V—variable

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