Pro-inflammatory T helper 17 directly harms oligodendrocytes in neuroinflammation.

Significance Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neuroinflammatory, demyelinating disease that represents one of the most frequent causes of irreversible disability in young adults. Treatment options to halt disability are limited. We discovered that T helper (Th)17 cells in contact with oligodendrocytes produce higher levels of glutamate and induce significantly greater oligodendrocyte damage than their Th2 counterpart. Blockade of CD29, which is linked to glutamate release pathways and expressed in high levels on Th17 cells, preserved human oligodendrocyte processes from Th17-mediated injury. Our data thus provide evidence for the direct and deleterious attack of Th17 cells on the myelin compart…