This work was supported by NIH grant DK080351 to PC.

Experimental Protocol
The first step in this experimental protocol is to collect a large number of mouse pituitary glands. The second step is to homogenize the glands to prepare a protein extract. The third step is to emulsify these proteins with an oily mixture.
Step 1: Collection and storage of mouse pituitary glands
The mouse pituitary gland sits at the base of the skull in a depression of the sphenoid bone called the sella turcica, surrounded laterally by the trigeminal nerves and anteriorly by the optic chiasm. The gland is composed of a larger anterior lobe and smaller posterior and intermediate lobes, and weighs on average 1.9 mg. Pituitary glands are collected from mice of mixed strains, sexes, and ages, destined to be euthanized by the animal care facility.
To isolate the pituitary gland, the mouse is euthanized, the skin above the skull dissected, and the skull bone cut open with scissors. The brain is lifted to expose the pituitary gland, which is then isolated from the surrounding dura mater, scooped out of the sphenoid bone and stored in a plastic tube on dry ice.
In general we use 300 mouse pituitary glands for one protein preparation, a number that can be collected by one person in 9 hours.
Once the collection is completed, the tube containing the pituitary glands is stored at -80 &deg;C until ready for the next step.
Step 2. Extraction of mouse pituitary proteins
<ol>
<li>Add the homogenization buffer to a 15-ml Falcon tube (catalog no 352059) kept in an ice bath, using 250 &mu;L of buffer for every 100 pituitary glands collected. Use a buffer of ionic strength similar to the one that is physiologically present inside the cytoplasm of the cell (0.2 M) and of physiologic pH (7.4). We use phosphate buffered saline (0.161 M, pH 7.4), supplemented with a protease inhibitor cocktail (Sigma-Aldrich, catalog no P8340-1ML).</li>
<li>Add the pituitary glands to the buffer just before homogenization, and then place the generator (5-mm diameter) of the Polytron homogenizer at the bottom of the Falcon tube. Homogenize at maximum rpm for 30 seconds, gently moving the Falcon tube up and down while keeping it in the ice bath. Then, rest the homogenate on ice for 1 min. Repeat the homogenization and cooling steps two more times. This gentle homogenization should break the cells and release cytosolic proteins without disrupting the nuclei.</li>
<li>To remove nuclei, unbroken tissue and insoluble materials (such as connective tissue and denatured protein complexes), centrifuge the homogenate at low speed (1000g) for 10 min at 4 &deg;C.</li>
<li>Transfer the supernatant (now called Post-Nuclear Supernatant, PNS) to a new Falcon tube, taking care to leave the pellet undisturbed, and store the PNS on ice.</li>
<li>Resuspend the pellet in the original volume of homogenization buffer (250 &mu;L of buffer for every 100 pituitary glands collected), homogenize as above, centrifuge as above, and then combine the second PNS with the first one.</li>
<li>Aliquot the two pooled PNS samples into microcentrifuge tubes and store at -80 &deg;C until ready for the next step. This protein preparation can be stored at -80 &deg;C but gradually looses its potency, so we recommend to use it within 6 months from the preparation. Use a small aliquot to determine the protein yield and concentration by the BCA assay (Pierce catalog no. 23225), and the protein quality by gel electrophoresis. In general, we obtain about 60 mg of protein from 300 mouse pituitaries in 1.5 mL of homogenization buffer, at a concentration around 40 mg/ mL.</li>
</ol>
Step 3. Preparation of the emulsion for immunization
<ol>
<li>Thaw rapidly the frozen protein aliquots needed for the experiment and adjust the protein concentration to 20 mg/ mL. This protein extract will be emulsified 1:1 with Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA, Sigma F-5881) containing 5 mg/ mL of heat killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Becton Dickinson, 231141). Each mouse will receive 1 mg of pituitary extract in 100 &mu;L of emulsion.</li>
<li>The example given here is for immunizing 10 mice, where each mouse will be injected with 100 &mu;L of the emulsion containing 1 mg of pituitary proteins. Allow two extra mice for material loss during the preparation, so use 12 mg of pituitary proteins. Aspire 600 &mu;L of the 20 mg/ mL pituitary protein extract describe above using a 2.5 mL Hamilton gastight syringe. Resuspend the CFA by shaking, and aspire 600 &mu;L of CFA into another 2.5 mL Hamilton syringe. Attach and secure a 22-gauge micro-emulsifying needle to the syringe filled with CFA. Slowly push the plunger of the CFA syringe such that the needle is filled with CFA, then attach and secure the other end of the needle to the syringe filled with pituitary extract.</li>
<li>Slowly advance the plunger of the CFA syringe to push the oil component into the acqueous pituitary extract, such that only a small amount is mixed. Then push back the plunger of the pituitary extract syringe into the CFA syringe. Repeat this action gradually increasing the amount of material mixed. Continue until the entire content of the two syringes are mixed. You will obtain a whitish and evenly distributed solution that represents the water-in-oil emulsion.</li>
<li>Once the emulsion is formed, repeat the back-and-forth motion at least 500 times to ensure the emulsion is thoroughly mixed. After the final mixing cycle, the 1:1 water-in-oil emulsion is ready to use and contains a pituitary protein concentration of 10 mg/mL. The emulsion will be injected the same day subcutaneously into anesthetized SJL mice, as detailed in the companion JoVE article.</li>
</ol>

<ol>
	<li>Caturegli, P., Newschaffer, C., Olivi, A., Pomper, M. G., Burger, P. C., Rose, N. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Autoimmune Hypophysitis Endocr Rev. 26, 599-614 (2005).</li><li>Blansfield, J. A., Beck, K. E., Tran, K., Yang, J. C., Hughes, M. S., Kammula, U. S., Royal, R. E., Topalian, S. L., Haworth, L. R., Levy, C., Rosenberg, S. A., Sherry, R. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cytotoxic+T-lymphocyte-associated+antigen-4+blockage+can+induce+autoimmune+hypophysitis+in+patients+with+metastatic+melanoma+and+renal+cancer.">Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 blockage can induce autoimmune hypophysitis in patients with metastatic melanoma and renal cancer.</a> J Immunother. 28, 593-598 (2005).</li><li>Tzou, S. C., Lupi, I., Landek, M., Gutenberg, A., Tzou, Y. M., Kimura, H., Pinna, G., Rose, N. R., Caturegli, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Autoimmune+Hypophysitis+of+SJL+mice:+Clinical+Insights+from+a+New+Animal+Model.">Autoimmune Hypophysitis of SJL mice: Clinical Insights from a New Animal Model.</a> Endocrinology. 149, 3461-3469 (2008).</li><li>Goudie, R. B., Pinkerton, P. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Anterior+hypophysitis+and+Hashimoto's+disease+in+a+woman.">Anterior hypophysitis and Hashimoto's disease in a woman.</a> J Pathol Bacteriol. 83, 584-585 (1962).</li><li>Caturegli, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Autoimmune+hypophysitis:+an+underestimated+disease+in+search+of+its+autoantigen(s).">Autoimmune hypophysitis: an underestimated disease in search of its autoantigen(s).</a> J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 92, 2038-2040 (2007).</li></ol>

No conflicts of interest declared.

Despite the fact that the first patient with autoimmune hypophysitis was reported in 19624, the pathogenic pituitary autoantigens remain to be identified5. Animal models can be very useful to identify these autoantigens, aiding the discovery of biomarkers that are translatable to patient care. This article has demonstrated a straightforward procedure for preparing pituitary proteins in a form that is adequate for inducing autoimmune hypophysitis in experimental animals.

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<td>15-ml Falcon tubes</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
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<td>homogenization buffer</td>
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<td>phosphate buffered saline</td>
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<td>protease inhibitor cocktail</td>
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<td>Polytron homogenizer</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
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<td>BCA assay</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Pierce</td>
<td>23225</td>
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<td>Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA)</td>
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<td>F-5881</td>
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<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Becton Dickinson</td>
<td>231141</td>
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<td>2.5 mL Hamilton gastight syringe</td>
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<td>22-gauge micro-emulsifying needle</td>
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preparation of mouse pituitary immunogen for the induction of experimental autoimmune hypophysitis

Autoimmune hypophysitis is a chronic inflammation of the pituitary gland caused or accompanied by autoimmunity1. It has traditionally been considered a rare disease but reporting has increased markedly in recent years. Hypophysitis, in fact, develops not uncommonly as a "side effect" in cancer patients treated with antibodies that block inhibitory receptors expressed on T lymphocytes, such as CTLA-42 and PD-1 receptors. Autoimmune hypophysitis can be induced experimentally by injecting mice with pituitary proteins mixed with an adjuvant3. In this video article we demonstrate how to extract proteins from mouse pituitary glands and how to prepare them in a form suitable for inducing autoimmune hypophysitis in SJL mice.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Preparation of Mouse Pituitary Immunogen for the Induction of Experimental Autoimmune Hypophysitis at JoVE.com

Preparation of Mouse Pituitary Immunogen for the Induction of Experimental Autoimmune Hypophysitis

Autoimmune hypophysitis can be reproduced in mice by injecting an extract of mouse pituitary proteins.

Autoimmune hypophysitis is a chronic inflammation of the pituitary gland caused or accompanied by autoimmunity1.  It has traditionally been considered a ...

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JoVE Journal

Immunology and Infection

14.5K Views.  The Johns Hopkins University. Autoimmune hypophysitis can be reproduced in mice by injecting an extract of mouse pituitary proteins.

Video: Preparation of Mouse Pituitary Immunogen for the Induction of Experimental Autoimmune Hypophysitis

Induction of Experimental Autoimmune Hypophysitis in SJL Mice

Autoimmune hypophysitis can be reproduced experimentally by the injection of pituitary proteins mixed with an adjuvant into susceptible mice1. Mouse models allow us to study how diseases unfold, often providing a good replica of the same processes occurring in humans. For some autoimmune diseases, like type 1A diabetes, there are models (the NOD mouse) that spontaneously develop a disease similar to the human counterpart. For many other autoimmune diseases, however, the model needs to be induced experimentally. A common approach in this regard is to inject the mouse with a dominant antigen derived from the organ being studied. For example, investigators interested in autoimmune thyroiditis inject mice with thyroglobulin2, and those interested in myasthenia gravis inject them with the acetylcholine receptor3. If the autoantigen for a particular autoimmune disease is not known, investigators inject a crude protein extract from the organ targeted by the autoimmune reaction. For autoimmune hypophysitis, the pathogenic autoantigen(s) remain to be identified4, and thus a crude pituitary protein preparation is used. In this video article we demonstrate how to induce experimental autoimmune hypophysitis in SJL mice.

This video shows how to induce autoimmune hypophysitis in SJL mice and how to assess its severity by histopathology.

Autoimmune hypophysitis can be reproduced experimentally by the injection of pituitary proteins mixed with an adjuvant into susceptible mice1. Mouse ...

Overcoming Unresponsiveness in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) Resistant Mouse Strains by Adoptive Transfer and Antigenic Challenge

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) and has been used as an animal model for study of the human demyelinating disease, multiple sclerosis (MS). EAE is characterized by pathologic infiltration of mononuclear cells into the CNS and by clinical manifestation of paralytic disease. Similar to MS, EAE is also under genetic control in that certain mouse strains are susceptible to disease induction while others are resistant. Typically, C57BL/6 (H-2b) mice immunized with myelin basic protein (MBP) fail to develop paralytic signs. This unresponsiveness is certainly not due to defects in antigen processing or antigen presentation of MBP, as an experimental protocol described here had been used to induce severe EAE in C57BL/6 mice as well as other reputed resistant mouse strains. In addition, encephalitogenic T cell clones from C57BL/6 and Balb/c mice reactive to MBP had been successfully isolated and propagated.
The experimental protocol involves using a cellular adoptive transfer system in which MBP-primed (200 &mu;g/mouse) C57BL/6 donor lymph node cells are isolated and cultured for five days with the antigen to expand the pool of MBP-specific T cells. At the end of the culture period, 50 million viable cells are transferred into naive syngeneic recipients through the tail vein. Recipient mice so treated normally do not develop EAE, thus reaffirming their resistant status, and they can remain normal indefinitely. Ten days post cell transfer, recipient mice are challenged with complete Freund adjuvant (CFA)-emulsified MBP in four sites in the flanks. Severe EAE starts to develop in these mice ten to fourteen days after challenge. Results showed that the induction of disease was antigenic specific as challenge with irrelevant antigens did not induce clinical signs of disease. Significantly, a titration of the antigen dose used to challenge the recipient mice showed that it could be as low as 5 &mu;g/mouse. In addition, a kinetic study of the timing of antigenic challenge showed that challenge to induce disease was effective as early as 5 days post antigenic challenge and as long as over 445 days post antigenic challenge. These data strongly point toward the involvement of a "long-lived" T cell population in maintaining unresponsiveness. The involvement of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in this system is not defined.

Overcoming Unresponsiveness in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis EAE Resistant Mouse Strains by Adoptive Transfer and Antigenic Challenge

Certain mouse strains are able to resist induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) with myelin basic protein. Described here is a simple immunization protocol that reverses the unresponsiveness and induces paralytic disease in several typical EAE resistant mouse stains.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) and has been used as an animal model for ...

Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG35-55) Induced Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) in C57BL/6 Mice

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic neuroinflammatory demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system with a strong neurodegenerative component. While the exact etiology of the disease is yet unclear, autoreactive T lymphocytes are thought to play a central role in its pathophysiology. MS therapy is only partially effective so far and research efforts continue to expand our knowledge on the pathophysiology of the disease and to develop novel treatment strategies. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is the most common animal model for MS sharing many clinical and pathophysiological features. There is a broad diversity of EAE models which reflect different clinical, immunological and histological aspects of human MS. Actively-induced EAE in mice is the easiest inducible model with robust and replicable results. It is especially suited for investigating the effects of drugs or of particular genes by using transgenic mice challenged by autoimmune neuroinflammation. Therefore, mice are immunized with CNS homogenates or peptides of myelin proteins. Due to the low immunogenic potential of these peptides, strong adjuvants are used. EAE susceptibility and phenotype depends on the chosen antigen and rodent strain. C57BL/6 mice are the commonly used strain for transgenic mouse construction and respond among others to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG). The immunogenic epitope MOG35-55 is suspended in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) prior to immunization and pertussis toxin is applied on the day of immunization and two days later. Mice develop a "classic" self-limited monophasic EAE with ascending flaccid paralysis within 9-14 days after immunization. Mice are evaluated daily using a clinical scoring system for 25-50 days. Special considerations for care taking of animals with EAE as well as potential applications and limitations of this model are discussed.

Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein MOG35-55 Induced Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis EAE in C57BL/6 Mice

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an established animal model of multiple sclerosis. C57BL/6 mice are immunized with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) peptide 35-55 (MOG35-55), resulting in an ascending flaccid paralysis caused by autoreactive immune cells in the central nervous system. Protocols for disease induction and monitoring will be discussed.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic neuroinflammatory demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system with a strong neurodegenerative component. While ...

Isolation of Infiltrating Leukocytes from Mouse Skin Using Enzymatic Digest and Gradient Separation

Dissociating murine skin into a single cell suspension is essential for downstream cellular analysis such as the characterization of infiltrating immune cells in rodent models of skin inflammation. Here, we describe a protocol for the digestion of mouse skin in a nutrient-rich solution with collagenase D, followed by separation of hematopoietic cells using a discontinuous density gradient. Cells thus obtained can be used for in vitro studies, in vivo transfer, and other downstream cellular and molecular analyses including flow cytometry. This protocol is an effective and economical alternative to expensive mechanical dissociators, specialized separation columns, and harsher trypsin- and dispase-based digestion methods, which may compromise cellular viability or density of surface proteins relevant for phenotypic characterization or cellular function. As shown here in our representative data, this protocol produced highly viable cells, contained specific immune cell subsets, and had no effect on integrity of common surface marker proteins used in flow cytometric analysis.

This protocol describes enzymatic digestion of mouse skin in nutrient-rich medium followed by gradient separation to isolate leukocytes. Cells thus derived can be used for diverse downstream applications. This is an effective, economical, and improved alternative to tissue dissociation machines and harsher trypsin and dispase-based tissue digestion protocols.

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Induction of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis in Mice and Evaluation of the Disease-dependent Distribution of Immune Cells in Various Tissues

Multiple sclerosis is presumed to be an inflammatory autoimmune disease, which is characterized by lesion formation in the central nervous system (CNS) resulting in cognitive and motor impairment. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a useful animal model of MS, because it is also characterized by lesion formation in the CNS, motor impairment and is also driven by autoimmune and inflammatory reactions. One of the EAE models is induced with a peptide derived from the myelin oligodendrocyte protein (MOG)35-55 in mice. The EAE mice develop a progressive disease course. This course is divided into three phases: the preclinical phase (day 0 - 9), the disease onset (day 10 - 11) and the acute phase (day 12 - 14). MS and EAE are induced by autoreactive T cells that infiltrate the CNS. These T cells secrete chemokines and cytokines which lead to the recruitment of further immune cells. Therefore, the immune cell distribution in the spinal cord during the three disease phases was investigated. To highlight the time point of the disease at which the activation/proliferation/accumulation of T cells, B cells and monocytes starts, the immune cell distribution in lymph nodes, spleen and blood was also assessed. Furthermore, the levels of several cytokines (IL-1&#946;, IL-6, IL-23, TNF&#945;, IFN&#947;) in the three disease phases were determined, to gain insight into the inflammatory processes of the disease. In conclusion, the data provide an overview of the functional profile of immune cells during EAE pathology.

This manuscript describes the methods for induction and scoring of the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model, together with the assessment of immune cell distribution and mRNA cytokine levels in lymph nodes, spleen, blood and spinal cord using flow cytometry and quantitative PCR, respectively, at various disease phases.

Multiple sclerosis is presumed to be an inflammatory autoimmune disease, which is characterized by lesion formation in the central nervous system (CNS) ...

Simple and Efficient Production and Purification of Mouse Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein for Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis Studies

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS), thought to occur as a result of autoimmune responses targeting myelin. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is the most common animal model of CNS autoimmune disease, and is typically induced via immunization with short peptides representing immunodominant CD4+ T cell epitopes of myelin proteins. However, B cells recognize unprocessed protein directly, and immunization with short peptide does not activate B cells that recognize the native protein. As recent clinical trials of B cell-depleting therapies in MS have suggested a role for B cells in driving disease in humans, there is an urgent need for animal models that incorporate B cell-recognition of autoantigen. To this end, we have generated a new fusion protein containing the extracellular domain of the mouse version of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) as well as N-terminal fusions of a His-tag for purification purposes and the thioredoxin protein to improve solubility (MOGtag). A tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease cleavage site was incorporated to allow the removal of all tag sequences, leaving only the pure MOG1-125 extracellular domain. Here, we describe a simple protocol using only standard laboratory equipment to produce large quantities of pure MOGtag or MOG1-125. This protocol consistently generates over 200 mg of MOGtag protein. Immunization with either MOGtag or MOG1-125 generates an autoimmune response that includes pathogenic B cells that recognize the native mouse MOG.

We describe a simple protocol using only basic lab equipment to generate and purify large quantities of a fusion protein that contains mouse Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein. This protein can be used to induce experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis driven by both T and B cells.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS), thought to occur as a result of autoimmune responses ...

Induction of Drug-Induced, Autoimmune Hepatitis in BALB/c Mice for the Study of Its Pathogenic Mechanisms

Drug-induced autoimmune hepatitis (DIH) is the most common hepatic drug-induced hypersensitization process observed in approximately 9 to 12% of patients with autoimmune hepatitis. The overwhelming majority of patients with DIH are women. The underlying mechanisms of these sex differences in prevalence are unclear because of the paucity of animal models that mimic human disease. Even so, underlying mechanisms are widely believed to be associated with human leukocyte antigen haplotypes and sex hormones. In contrast, using a DIH mouse model, we have uncovered that IL-4 initiated&#160;CD4+ T cells directed against an epitope of cytochrome P450 2E1 induces influx of neutrophils, macrophages and mast cells into the livers of female BALB/c mice. Using this model, we have also shown that IL-33-induced FoxP3+regulatory T cells confer protection against DIH in female and male mice. This DIH model is induced by immunizing mice with an epitope of CYP2E1 that has been covalently altered with a drug metabolite that has been associated with DIH. This epitope is recognized by patients with DIH. Our method induces robust and reproducible hepatitis and autoantibodies that can be utilized to study the pathogenesis of DIH. While in vivo studies can cause undue pain and distress in mice when done improperly, the advantage of an in vivo model is the ability to evaluate the pathogenesis of disease in a large number of mice. Additionally, biological effects of the altered liver proteins can be studied using invasive procedures. The addition of in vitro studies to the experimental design allows rapid repetition and mechanistic analysis at a cellular level. Thus, we will demonstrate our model protocol and how it can be utilized to study in vivo and in vitro mechanisms of DIH.

We describe an in vivo immunization, translational hepatitis model in BALB/c mice that can be utilized to study the pathogenesis of drug-induced autoimmune hepatitis including sex differences seen in this disease. We will describe how this model demonstrates reproducible analyses using in vivo and in vitro experimental techniques.

Drug-induced autoimmune hepatitis (DIH) is the most common hepatic drug-induced hypersensitization process observed in approximately 9 to 12% of patients ...

Visualizing Impairment of the Endothelial and Glial Barriers of the Neurovascular Unit during Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis In Vivo

The neurovascular unit (NVU) is composed of microvascular endothelial cells forming the blood-brain barrier (BBB), an endothelial basement membrane with embedded pericytes, and the glia limitans composed by the parenchymal basement membrane and astrocytic end-feed embracing the abluminal aspect of central nervous system (CNS) microvessels. In addition to maintaining CNS homeostasis the NVU controls immune cell trafficking into the CNS. During immunosurveillance of the CNS low numbers of activated lymphocytes can cross the endothelial barrier without causing BBB dysfunction or clinical disease. In contrast, during neuroinflammation such as in multiple sclerosis or its animal model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) a large number of immune cells can cross the BBB and subsequently the glia limitans eventually reaching the CNS parenchyma leading to clinical disease. 
Immune cell migration into the CNS parenchyma is thus a two-step process that involves a sequential migration across the endothelial and glial barrier of the NVU employing distinct molecular mechanisms. If following their passage across the endothelial barrier, T cells encounter their cognate antigen on perivascular antigen-presenting cells their local reactivation will initiate subsequent mechanisms leading to the focal activation of gelatinases, which will enable the T cells to cross the glial barrier and enter the CNS parenchyma. Thus, assessing both, BBB permeability and MMP activity in spatial correlation to immune cell accumulation in the CNS during EAE allows to specify loss of integrity of the endothelial and glial barriers of the NVU. 
We here show how to induce EAE in C57BL/6 mice by active immunization and how to subsequently analyze BBB permeability in vivo using a combination of exogenous fluorescent tracers. We further show, how to visualize and localize gelatinase activity in EAE brains by in situ zymogaphy coupled to immunofluorescent stainings of BBB basement membranes and CD45+ invading immune cells.

Here, we present protocols to investigate impairment of the neurovascular unit during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in vivo. We specifically address how to determine blood-brain barrier permeability and gelatinase activity involved in leukocyte migration across the glia limitans.&#160;

The neurovascular unit (NVU) is composed of microvascular endothelial cells forming the blood-brain barrier (BBB), an endothelial basement membrane with ...

Flow Cytometric Analysis of Lymphocyte Infiltration in Central Nervous System during Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) caused by the combination of environmental factors and susceptible genetic background. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a typical disease model of MS widely used for investigating the pathogenesis in which T lymphocytes specific for myelin antigens initiate an inflammatory reaction in CNS. It is very important to assess how lymphocytes in the CNS regulate the development of disease. However, the approach for measuring the quantity and quality of infiltrated lymphocytes in the CNS is very limited due to the difficulties in isolating and detecting infiltrated lymphocytes from the brain. This manuscript presents a protocol for that is useful for the isolation, identification, and characterization of infiltrated lymphocytes from the CNS and will be helpful for our understanding of how lymphocytes are involved in the development of the CNS autoimmune disease.

This manuscript presents a protocol to induce active experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in mice. A method for the isolation and characterization of the infiltrated lymphocytes in the central nervous system (CNS) is also presented to show how lymphocytes are involved in the development of CNS autoimmune disease.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) caused by the combination of environmental factors and susceptible ...

Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis: An Intraocular Inflammatory Mouse Model

Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis (EAU) is driven by immune cells responding to self-antigens. Many features of this non-infectious, intraocular inflammatory disease model recapitulate the clinical phenotype of posterior uveitis affecting humans. EAU has been used reliably to study the efficacy of novel inflammatory therapeutics, their mode of action and to further investigate the mechanisms that underpin disease progression of intraocular disorders. Here, we provide a detailed protocol on EAU induction in the C57BL/6J mouse - the most widely used model organism with susceptibility to this disease. Clinical assessment of disease severity and progression will be demonstrated using fundoscopy, histological examination and fluorescein angiography. The induction procedure involves subcutaneous&#160;injection of an emulsion containing a peptide (IRBP1-20) from the ocular protein interphotoreceptor retinoid binding protein (also known as retinol binding protein 3), Complete Freund&#39;s Adjuvant (CFA) and supplemented with killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Injection of this viscous emulsion on the back of the neck is followed by a single intraperitoneal injection of Bordetella pertussis toxin. At the onset of symptoms (day 12-14) and under general anesthesia, fundoscopic images are taken to assess disease progression through clinical examination. These data can be directly compared with those at later timepoints and peak disease (day 20-22) with differences analyzed. At the same time, this protocol allows the investigator to assess potential differences in vessel permeability and damage using fluorescein angiography. EAU can be induced in other mouse strains - both wildtype or genetically modified - and combined with novel therapies offering flexibility for studying drug efficacy and/or disease mechanisms.

In this report we present a protocol that allows the investigator to generate a mouse model of intraocular uveitis. More commonly referred to as experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU), this established model captures many aspects of human disease. Herein, we will describe how to induce and monitor disease progression using several readouts.