Therapeutic implications of Apolipoprotein E genotype in autoimmune inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system

Abstract

Introduction: Apolipoprotein E (apoE) is characterized by pleiotropic immunomodulatory functions in vitro, but its influence on the clinical course of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), is still unclear. While there is no evidence for an association of APOE genotypes and MS susceptibility, apoE might have therapeutic implications due to its regulatory effect on ATP-binding cassette (ABC)-transporter activity as demonstrated in experimental ischemic stroke.