In Vivo Blockade of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor Ameliorates Acute Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis by Impairing the Homing of Encephalitogenic T Cells to the Central Nervous System

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a cytokine that plays a critical role in the regulation of macrophage effector functions and T cell activation. However, its role in the pathogenesis of T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases, such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), has remained unresolved. In this study, we report that anti-MIF Ab treatment of SJL mice with acute EAE improved the disease severity and accelerated the recovery. Furthermore, the anti-MIF treatment impaired the homing of neuroantigen-reactive pathogenic T cells to the CNS in a VCAM-1-dependent fashion. Interestingly, MIF blockade also decreased the clonal size of the neuroantigen-specific Th1 cells and increased their activation threshold. Taken together, the results demonstrate an important role for MIF in the pathogenesis of EAE/multiple sclerosis and suggest that MIF blockade may be a promising new strategy for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.