Induction and Diverse Assessment Indicators of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Summary

The present protocol describes the induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in a mouse model using myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein and monitoring the disease process using a clinical scoring system. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis-related symptoms are analyzed using mouse femur micro-computed tomography analysis and open field test to assess the disease process comprehensively.

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a typical autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by inflammatory infiltration, demyelination, and axonal damage. Currently, there are no measures to cure MS completely, but multiple disease-modifying therapies (DMT) are available to control and mitigate disease progression. There are significant similarities between the CNS pathological features of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and MS patients. EAE has been widely used as a representative model to determine MS drugs' efficacy and explore the development of new therapies for MS disease. Active induction of EAE in mice has a stable and reproducible effect and is particularly suitable for studying the effects of drugs or genes on autoimmune neuroinflammation. The method of immunizing C57BL/6J mice with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG_35-55) and the daily assessment of disease symptoms using a clinical scoring system is mainly shared. Given the complex etiology of MS with diverse clinical manifestations, the existing clinical scoring system can't satisfy the assessment of disease treatment. To avoid the shortcomings of a single intervention, new indicators to assess EAE based on clinical manifestations of anxiety-like moods and osteoporosis in MS patients are created to provide a more comprehensive assessment of MS treatment.

Introduction

Autoimmune diseases are a spectrum of disorders caused by the immune system's immune response to its own antigens resulting in tissue damage or dysfunction¹. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease of polyneuropathy in the central nervous system (CNS), characterized by inflammatory infiltration, demyelination, and neuronal axonal degeneration^2,3. At present, MS has affected as many as 2.5 million people around the world, mostly young and middle-aged people aged 20-40, who are often the backbone of their families and society. This has caused considerable impact and ha....

Protocol

The Animal Care Committee of Tongji University approved the present work, and all animal care guidelines were followed. Male or female C57BL/6J mice between 8-12 weeks of age were used for the experiments. It was ensured that the age and sex were the same in the experimental groups; otherwise, the susceptibility to the disease was affected. Mice were housed in a specific pathogen-free environment with alternating 12 h light and dark cycles under constant conditions (room temperature 23 ± 1 °C, humidity 50% ± 10%), with free access to mouse food and water.

1. Preparation of MOG_35-55 emulsion

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Results

After immunization of the mice, the bodyweight of the mice is recorded daily, and their clinical symptoms are evaluated according to the protocol described above (step 4). In C57BL/6J mice immunized with MOG peptide, because the location of the lesion is mainly confined to the spinal cord,the pathogenesis of EAE mice spreads from the tail end to the head. At the beginning of the disease, EAE mice exhibit weakness and drooping of the tail, followed by weakness of the hind limbs, uncoordinated movement, and paralysis. As t.......

Discussion

MS is a demyelinating inflammatory disease of the CNS and is one of the most common neurological disorders causing chronic disability in young people, imposing a huge burden on families and society^3,4. MS has always been classified as an organ-specific T cell-mediated autoimmune disease, inducing the autoimmune system to slowly erode CNS, which will involve multiple systems throughout the body²⁷. Typical clinical symptoms include visual im.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
1 mL syringe(with 26 G needle)	Shanghai Kindly Medical Instruments Co., Ltd	60017031
2 mL microcentrifuge tube	HAIKELASI	KY-LXG2A
22 G needle	Shanghai Kindly Medical Instruments Co., Ltd	60017208
Complete Freund’s Adjuvant	Sigma	F5881	Stored at 4 °C, 1 mg of heat-inactivated MTB (H37Ra) per mL
Conditioned place preference system	Shanghai Jiliang Software Technology Co., Ltd		Animal behavior
Ethanol	Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd	10009218	Stored at RT
Locomotion activity (open field) video analysis system	Shanghai Jiliang Software Technology Co., Ltd	DigBehv-002	Animal behavior
MOG35-55 peptide	Gill Biochemical Co., Ltd	GLS-Y-M-03590	Stored at -20 °C
Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra	BD	231141	Stored at 4 °C
Open field reaction chamber	Shanghai Jiliang Software Technology Co., Ltd		Animal behavior
Pertussis toxin	Calbiochem	516560	Stored at 4 °C
Phosphate Buffered Saline			Made in our laboratory
Scissor	Shanghai Medical Instrument (group) Co., Ltd	J21010
Sealing film	Heathrow Scientific	HS 234526B
Sorvall Legend Micro 21R Microcentrifuge	Thermo Scientific	75002447
Steel ball	QIAGEN	69975
TissueLyser II	QIAGEN	85300
Tweezer	Shanghai Medical Instrument (group) Co., Ltd	JD1060
μCT 35 desktop microCT scanner	Scanco Medical AG, Bassersdorf, Switzerland