The present study underlines the importance of
gemfibrozil, a
lipid-lowering drug and an activator of
peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (
PPAR-alpha), in inhibiting the disease process of adoptively transferred
experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of
relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Clinical symptoms of EAE, infiltration of mononuclear cells, and
demyelination were significantly lower in SJL/J female mice receiving
gemfibrozil through food chow than those without
gemfibrozil. It is noteworthy that the drug was equally effective in treating EAE in
PPAR-alpha wild-type as well as knockout mice.
Gemfibrozil also inhibited the encephalitogenicity of MBP-primed T cells and switched the immune response from a Th1 to a Th2 profile independent of
PPAR-alpha.
Gemfibrozil consistently inhibited the expression and
DNA-binding activity of T-bet, a key regulator of
interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) expression and stimulated the expression and
DNA-binding activity of GATA3, a key regulator of
IL-4.
Gemfibrozil treatment decreased the number of T-bet-positive T cells and increased the number of GATA3-positive T cells in spleen of donor mice. The histological and immunohistochemical analyses also demonstrate the inhibitory effect of
gemfibrozil on the invasion of T-bet-positive T cells into the spinal cord of EAE mice. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the differential effect of
gemfibrozil on the expression of T-bet and GATA3 was due to its inhibitory effect on NO production. Although excess NO favored the expression of T-bet, scavenging of NO stimulated the expression of GATA-3. Taken together, our results suggest
gemfibrozil, an approved drug for
hyperlipidemia in humans, may find further
therapeutic use in
multiple sclerosis.