GALECTIN-1 SUPPRESSES AUTOIMMUNE RETINAL DISEASE BY PROMOTING CONCOMITANT T HELPER (TH)2- AND T REGULATORY-MEDIATED ANTI-INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES

A. TOSCANO., MARTA; G. COMMODARO, ALESSANDRA; A. BIANCO, GERMÁN; M. ILARREGUI, JUAN; ANA LIBERMAN,; SERRA, HORACIO MARCELO; JUN HIRABAYASHI,; V. RIZZO, LUIZ; A. RABINOVICH, GABRIEL

AMER ASSOC IMMUNOLOGISTS

Año: 2006 vol. 176 p. 6323 - 6323

b> Intraocular inflammatory diseases are a common cause of severe visual impairment and blindness. In this study, we investigated the immunoregulatory role of galectin-1 (Gal-1), an endogenous lectin found at sites of T cell activation and immune privilege, in experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU), a Th1-mediated model of retinal disease. Treatment with rGal-1 either early or late during the course of interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein-induced EAU was sufficient to suppress ocular pathology, inhibit leukocyte infiltration, and counteract pathogenic Th1 cells. Administration of rGal-1 at the early or late phases of EAU ameliorated disease by skewing the uveitogenic response toward nonpathogenic Th2 or T regulatory-mediated anti-inflammatory responses. Consistently, adoptive transfer of CD4