Astrocytic expression of the chemokine CXCL9, but not CXCL10 exacerbates chronic disease and increases mortality in an animal model of multiple sclerosis

Chemokines are intimately involved in the pathogenesis of CNS autoimmune disorders. The chemokine receptor CXCR3 and the corresponding ligands CXCL9 and CXCL10 are involved in trafficking of activated T cells and highly expressed in MS and the corresponding animal model experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE). However, functional studies in EAE have not clarified the role of CXCL9 while those on CXCL10 have produced conflicting findings. To dissect the functional properties of CXCL9 and CXCL10, we produced transgenic mice with astrocyte-restricted expression of the CXCL9 gene (GF-CXCL9 mice). We compared the…