The contribution of nitric oxide and interferon gamma to the regulation of the neuro-inflammation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Nitric oxide (NO) is a key messenger involved in physiological functions including endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation, inhibition of platelet adhesion and aggregation and regulation of inflammatory and immune responses. Here we briefly introduce NO and its functions and then describe our work over the past several years examining the role of NO in EAE in both the rat and the mouse. We show that NO plays a significant role in determining the resistance or susceptibility to EAE in various strains and or sexes of animals. We demonstrate that NO down-regulates several aspects of CNS inflammation but also has a dual role in that it is required for inflammation in some situations.