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CXCR3 Signaling Reduces the Severity of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis by Controlling the Parenchymal Distribution of Effector and Regulatory T Cells in the Central Nervous System¹

Marcus Müller^*, Sally L. Carter^*, Markus J. Hofer^*, Peter Manders^*, Daniel R. Getts, Meghan T. Getts, Angela Dreykluft^*, Bao Lu, Craig Gerard, Nicholas J. C. King and Iain L. Campbell^2,*,

^* School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences and Department of Pathology and Bosch Institute, School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; and Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115

The chemokine receptor CXCR3 promotes the trafficking of activated T and NK cells in response to three ligands, CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11. Although these chemokines are produced in the CNS in multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), their role in the pathogenesis of CNS autoimmunity is unresolved. We examined the function of CXCR3 signaling in EAE using mice that were deficient for CXCR3 (CXCR3^–/–). The time to onset and peak disease severity were similar for CXCR3^–/– and wild-type (WT) animals; however, CXCR3^–/– mice had more severe chronic disease with increased demyelination and axonal damage. The inflammatory lesions in WT mice consisted of well-demarcated perivascular mononuclear cell infiltrates, mainly in the spinal cord and cerebellum. In CXCR3^–/– mice, these lesions were more widespread throughout the CNS and were diffused and poorly organized, with T cells and highly activated microglia/macrophages scattered throughout the white matter. Although the number of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells infiltrating the CNS were similar in CXCR3^–/– and WT mice, Foxp3⁺ regulatory T cells were significantly reduced in number and dispersed in CXCR3^–/– mice. The expression of various chemokine and cytokine genes in the CNS was similar in CXCR3^–/– and WT mice. The genes for the CXCR3 ligands were expressed predominantly in and/or immediately surrounding the mononuclear cell infiltrates. We conclude that in EAE, CXCR3 signaling constrains T cells to the perivascular space in the CNS and augments regulatory T cell recruitment and effector T cell interaction, thus limiting autoimmune-mediated tissue damage.

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

¹ This work was supported by U.S. Public Health Service National Institutes of Health Grant NS044905 and a start up grant from the University of Sydney (to I.L.C.). S.L.C. was supported by an Endeavour International Postgraduate Award and International Postgraduate Award from the University of Sydney. D.G. was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award. M.J.H. was a postdoctoral fellow from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (HO3298/1-1). M.M. was a postdoctoral fellow from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Mu17-07/3-1) and was also supported by the Innovative Medical Research Fund of the University of Munster Medical School, Munster, Germany.

² Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Iain L. Campbell, School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences G08, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. E-mail address: icamp{at}mmb.usyd.edu.au

³ Abbreviations used in this paper: MS, multiple sclerosis; EAE, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis; WT, wild type; MOG, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein; DAPI, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole; LFB, Luxol fast blue; RPA, RNase protection assay; LCM, lymphocytic choriomeningitis.