TNFα: Kill or cure for demyelinating disease?

Abstract

TNF-α secreted by infiltrating immune cells and microglia has traditionally been ascribed a proinflammatory role in the CNS and has been associated with demyelinating pathology in multiple sclerosis. A new report shows that TNFα also exerts strong promyelinating effects in the adult CNS. Interruption of this previously unrecognized function, as well as of other neuroprotective and immunoregulatory functions of this pleiotrophic molecule, may explain why therapies directed against TNFα or its receptors have been unsuccessful in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.