Role of effector T cells in multiple sclerosis

Abstract

AbstractMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, and the imbalance between autoimmunity and immune tolerance is considered to be the key factor for its pathogenesis. Effector T cells are shown to be involved not only in the early relapsing–remitting phase of this disease but also in the later progressive phase, which is thought to further promote the disease pathogenesis. Given the clinical benefits of the immune‐modulating reagents, which are designated as disease‐modifying treatments, growing evidence has demonstrated their association with the amelioration of pathogenic T cells further suggesting their relevance in the treatment of MS, which is an immune‐mediated disease. T cells, a type of lymphocytes, play a central role in the immune response and have also been thought to play a pivotal role in MS. It has been well described that the effector CD4+ T cells, such as T helper (Th)1 and Th17 cells, orchestrate inflammation in the early phase including both infiltrating immune cells and brain‐resident glia cells and further disrupt the myelin sheath resulting in neurologic symptoms. Furthermore, recent reports have highlighted the role of CD8+ T cells as well as T cells in the progressive phase of this disease. In this review, an overview of effector T cells orchestrating pathogenesis of MS and recent advances in the field are discussed.