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In multiple sclerosis (MS), and in a similar disease in mice (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, or EAE), T cells attack the myelin sheath around neurons. Several molecular components of myelin are targets of the T-cell attack. One target is αB-crystallin (CRYAB), a protein that is abundantly produced in the early lesions of both MS and EAE. CRYAB, which is produced in response to an autoimmune assault on myelin, protects against inflammation and cell death.
An international team knocked out the gene for CRYAB in mice and then caused EAE in those mice and in mice with an intact gene. The knockout mice had more intense central nervous system inflammation, higher levels of inflammatory cytokines, and increased rates of glial cell death…