Tailoring hydrogen sulfide as therapeutic target in multiple sclerosis?
Upregulation of tolerogenic pathways in dendritic cell and T cells from
mice with EAE by the hydrogen sulfide donor GYY4137 and potentially
impaired production of endogenous H2S in patients with multiple
sclerosis
Abstract
The aim of the study was to examine the in vitro effects of the
slow-releasing H2S donor GYY4137 on immune cells involved in the
pathogenesis of the central nervous system (CNS) autoimmune disease,
multiple sclerosis (MS). GYY4137 specifically potentiated TGF-beta
expression and production in dendritic cells and significantly reduced
IFN-γ and IL-17 production in the lymph node and spinal cord T cells
obtained from mice immunized with CNS antigens. Both the proportion of
FoxP3+ regulatory CD4+ T cells in the lymph node cells, and the
percentage of IL-17+ CD4+ T cells in the spinal cord cells were reduced
upon culturing with GYY4137. Interestingly, peripheral blood mononuclear
cells obtained from MS patients had lower expression of the
H2S-producing enzyme, 3-mercaptopyruvate-sulfurtransferase (MPST), in
comparison to those obtained from healthy donors. A significant inverse
correlation between the expression of MPST and several pro-inflammatory
factors was also observed. Further studies on the relevance of the
observed results for the pathogenesis and therapy of MS are warranted.