The Role of GM-CSF in Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an idiopathic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, which is characterized pathologically by demyelination and subsequent axonal degeneration. Infiltrating macrophages have been identified to contribute significantly to demyelination in both clinical MS and animal models of MS. GM-CSF stimulates proliferation and activation of macrophages, monocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, dendritic cells and microglia with subsequent induction of pro-inflammatory biomolecules. GM-CSF might therefore be involved in the inflammatory processes related to MS. Elevated concentrations of GM-CSF have been shown in the cerebrospinal fluid but not in the serum of patients suffering from relapsing-remitting or secondary progressive MS [1], [2]. Similarly, GM-CSF levels were reported to be higher in the cerebrospinal fluid, but not in the serum of patients with active phase of relapsing-remitting MS and in patients with remission in comparison to control patients suffering from other non-inflammatory neurological diseases [3].

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