Effects of diazepam on CD4 T cells in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE)

FERNÁNDEZ HURST, N.; ZANETTI, S.R.; BOUZAT, C.B.; ROTH, G.

Buenos Aires

Congreso; Segundo Congreso Franco Argentino de Inmunología - LXIII Reunión Anual de SAI - IV Reunión Anual de LASID; 2015

CD4 T cells exert a critical role during the induction and development of EAE. Diazepam (Dz) is an allosteric modulator of the GABA-A receptor (GABA-AR) and also binds to the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, TSPO. Previously, we demonstrated that Dz has a protective role during the development of EAE. Here, we investigated how Dz mediates this action. The animals were sensitized with complete Freunds adjuvant (CFA) alone (control group) or with myelin to induce EAE, treated or not with Dz, and sacrificed during the acute state of the disease. We evaluated the expression of the gamma2 subunit of GABA-AR and TSPO by qPCR in CD4 T cells and in nervous cortex tissue. We observed that the levels of gamma2 subunit and TSPO were reduced in CD4 T cells from EAE animals treated or not with Dz in comparison to CFA animals (p