Lesion location may be influenced by response to immune factor

Although this is an EAE study, and EAE is an imperfect model for MS, I thought the results were interesting and may also have some implications for MS. Scientists in Baltimore have found that responses to interferon gamma (IFNg), an inflammatory molecule, affects the location of lesions in EAE. Mice that were genetically engineered not to produce IFNg in their T cells, or not to produce the receptor for IFNg in the CNS, wound up with lesions in their brain stem and cerebellum, but not the spinal cord. However, when the IFNg signaling was restored, the mice developed spinal cord lesions instead of brain stem and cerebellar lesions. Perhaps individual differences in IFNg signaling in people with MS play a role in which areas of the brain are more greatly affected?