Acta neurologica Scandinavica. Supplementum
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Acta Neurol. Scand., Suppl.c · Jan 1994
Interferon-gamma, interleukin-4 and transforming growth factor-beta mRNA expression in multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by perivascular inflammation and high levels of circulating T and B lymphocytes that respond to the myelin antigens myelin basic protein (MBP) and proteolipid protein (PLP), thereby suggesting a role for immunoregulatory cytokines. ⋯ High numbers of in vivo activated and of organ-specific antigen-responsive Th1 and Th2 like cells expressing IFN-gamma and IL-4 mRNA are characteristic for MS and MG. Upregulation of TGF-beta in MS patients with little disability and in MG after thymectomy implicates that TGF-beta has desirable effects in human diseases with autoimmune background.