Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy on Neuromyelitis Optica. Curr Neurovasc Res
Pathogenic T cell responses against aquaporin 4. Pohl M , Fischer MT , Mader S , Schanda K , Kitic M , Sharma R , Wimmer I , Misu T , Fujihara K , Reindl M , Lassmann H , Bradl M . Source Department of Neuroimmunology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University Vienna, Spitalgasse 4, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
Inflammatory lesions in the central nervous system of patients with neuromyelitis optica are characterized by infiltration of T cells and deposition of aquaporin-4-specific antibodies and complement on astrocytes at the glia limitans. Although the contribution of aquaporin-4-specific autoantibodies to the disease process has been recently elucidated, a potential role of aquaporin- 4-specific T cells in lesion formation is unresolved. To address this issue, we raised aquaporin-4-specific T cell lines in Lewis rats and characterized their pathogenic potential in the presence and absence of aquaporin-4-specific autoantibodies of neuromyelitis optica patients