Open AccessOligodendrocyte-derived extracellular vesicles as antigen-specific therapy for autoimmune neuroinflammation in mice
Author(s) -
Giacomo Casella,
Javad Rasouli,
Alexandra Boehm,
Weifeng Zhang,
Dan Xiao,
Larissa Lumi Watanabe Ishikawa,
Rodolfo Thomé,
Xing Li,
Daniel Hwang,
Patrizia Porazzi,
Sudheer K. Molugu,
HsinYao Tang,
GuangXian Zhang,
Bogoljub Ćirić,
Abdolmohamad Rostami
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
science translational medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.819
H-Index - 216
eISSN - 1946-6242
pISSN - 1946-6234
DOI - 10.1126/scitranslmed.aba0599
Subject(s) - neuroinflammation , extracellular vesicles , antigen , oligodendrocyte , immunology , extracellular , experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis , medicine , autoimmunity , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , immune system , neuroscience , myelin , biology , central nervous system , inflammation
Autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) develop because of failed peripheral immune tolerance for a specific self-antigen (Ag). Numerous approaches for Ag-specific suppression of autoimmune neuroinflammation have been proven effective in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS. One such approach is intravenous tolerance induction by injecting a myelin Ag used for triggering EAE. However, the translation of this and similar experimental strategies into therapy for MS has been hampered by uncertainty regarding relevant myelin Ags in MS patients. To address this issue, we developed a therapeutic strategy that relies on oligodendrocyte (Ol)-derived extracellular vesicles (Ol-EVs), which naturally contain multiple myelin Ags. Intravenous Ol-EV injection reduced disease pathophysiology in a myelin Ag-dependent manner, both prophylactically and therapeutically, in several EAE models. The treatment was safe and restored immune tolerance by inducing immunosuppressive monocytes and apoptosis of autoreactive CD4 + T cells. Furthermore, we showed that human Ols also released EVs containing most relevant myelin Ags, providing a basis for their use in MS therapy. These findings introduce an approach for suppressing central nervous system (CNS) autoimmunity in a myelin Ag-specific manner, without the need to identify the target Ag.