Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in Primates

Abstract

Due to their genetic and immunological proximity to humans, the common marmoset, Callithrix jacchus, provides an important bridge between rodent-based research and the human disease. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced in the outbred common marmoset provides a highly reproducible model of multiple sclerosis (MS) phenotypically characterised by neurological deficits, inflammatory lesions of the cerebral white matter and spinal cord, primary demyelination and axonal destruction. A fused placental blood circulation in utero, unique amongst monkeys, results in an immune tolerance between chimeric twins which allows adoptive transfer experiments assessing the relative contributions of T- and B-cells to pathogenesis. Overall, the ability to perform serial blood sampling, quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histopathological techniques, which are comparable to the human MS situation, means that the common marmoset EAE model provides an excellent test system for investigating the relationship between neurological deficits and pathological processes and the evaluation of new therapeutics.