Developing a new and effective therapeutic approach against
multiple sclerosis (MS) is always an important area of research.
RNS60 is a bioactive aqueous
solution generated by subjecting
normal saline to Taylor-Couette-Poiseuille flow under elevated
oxygen pressure. Recently we have demonstrated that
RNS60, administered through
intraperitoneal injection, ameliorated clinical symptoms and
disease progression of
experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS. Since the intravenous route is not preferred for treating a
chronic condition, we tested if nebulization of
RNS60 could attenuate the disease process of adoptively-transferred EAE in mice. Although we could not directly image
RNS60 after nebulization, nebulized Alexa680 reached spleen, spinal cord and different parts of the brain. Nebulization of
RNS60 starting from the acute phase attenuated clinical symptoms of relapsing-remitting EAE in female SJL/J mice.
RNS60 nebulization also inhibited perivascular cuffing, maintained the integrity of blood-brain and blood-spinal cord barriers, suppressed
inflammation, normalized the expression of myelin genes, and blocked
demyelination in the CNS of EAE mice. On the immunomodulatory front, nebulization of
RNS60 to EAE mice led to the enrichment of anti-autoimmune regulatory T cells (Tregs) and suppression of autoimmune Th17 cells. Together, these results suggest that nebulization of
RNS60 may be used to control aberrant immune responses in MS and other autoimmune disorders.