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The demyelinating process in multiple sclerosis (MS) involves selective oligodendrocyte injury and death. Apoptotic oligodendrocytes exist in active areas of inflammation in MS, yet the precise stimulus for cell death remains unclear. Results from several studies suggest that glutamate mediates excitotoxic injury in MS via glutamate receptors, similar to neuronal injury in stroke. In addition, inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukins, have been thought to contribute to MS lesions. In this study, researchers examined the mechanism of oligodendrocyte cell death in an in vitro model of MS in mice.
The authors demonstrated that interleukin-1β (IL-1β) was not toxic to oligodendrocytes that were cultured in isolation, but rather, that IL-1 inj…