Projekt
Role of activated fibroblastic stromal cells in relapsing-remitting experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis
Automatisch geschlossen · 2015 bis 2016
Ludewig Burkhard, Pikor Natalia
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Kurzbeschreibung/Zielsetzung
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) resulting in demyelination, axonal loss and consequential clinical impairment. In addition, the presence of meningeal inflammatory infiltrates in the progressive MS brain suggests that there may be a dual contribution of ongoing neurodegeneration and sustained immune responses that contribute to disease progression. While the exact cell types and molecular cues promoting the formation of such ectopic lymphoid follicle-like structures in the meninges remain unclear, several lines of evidence, including our own, suggest that maturation of meningeal stromal cells may be one of the initiating cues for establishing and sustaining a niche for lymphocyte recruitment and activation within the CNS. In order to trace and genetically manipulate activated fibroblastic stromal cells in vivo, our laboratory has established mouse models that utilize promoters of the constitutive chemokines CCL19 or CXCL13 to drive Cre recombinase expression.