Early eosinophil infiltration into the optic nerve of mice with experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis is a murine model of preclinical autoimmune disease that has pathologic similarities to multiple sclerosis (MS). Although CD4+ T cells have been shown to play a crucial role in the development of disease, we recently demonstrated a link between the development of paralysis and eosinophil infiltration into the spinal cord. As such, CD4+ cells may initiate disease, but eosinophils may be the actual effector cells responsible for causing damage to myelin and causing paralysis. Because MS patients sometimes experience early visual problems, ie, optic neuritis, we explored whether an early eosinophil infiltrate was also observed in the optic nerves of SJL mice after the passive transfer of encephalitogenic T cells. Seven days after the passive transfer of myelin basic protein (MBP)-reactive T cell blasts, we observed a significant infiltration of eosinophils into the optic nerves of the mice. This infiltration persisted during the early phases of paralysis, then declined to baseline values by the peak of limb paralysis on Day 10, and remained at baseline during the remission phase of the disease. Remyelination of optic nerves was observed at this time. These results suggest that eosinophil infiltration into the optic nerve is one of the earliest events occurring after the passive transfer of encephalitogenic T cells in murine experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.