Amelioration of experimental allergic neuritis by sodium fusidate (fusidin): suppression of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha and enhancement of IL-10. |
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| Authors: | R Di Marco M Khademi E Wallstrom S Muhallab F Nicoletti T Olsson |
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| Institution: | Unit of Neuroimmunology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. rdimarco@iskra.it |
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| Abstract: | The immunomodulating antibiotic drug fusidic acid and its sodium salt sodium fusidate (fusidin) ameliorate several organ-specific immunoinflammatory diseases. Because preliminary observations suggest that fusidin may also exert a beneficial effect in Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), here we have studied the effects of fusidin on actively induced experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN) in rats, a known animal model for GBS. Both prophylactic and therapeutic treatment with fusidin (4 mg/rat day ip) markedly ameliorated the clinical course of the disease compared to vehicle-treated animals. The beneficial effects were associated with profound modifications of the capacity of these rats to produce and release pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha and IL-10, which are important in regulating the development of EAN. |
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