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High Fat Diet Exacerbates Neuroinflammation in an Animal Model of Multiple Sclerosis by Activation of the Renin Angiotensin System

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Abstract

Epidemiological studies suggest a positive correlation between the incidence and severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) and the intake of fatty acids. It remains to be clarified whether high fat diet (HFD) indeed can exacerbate the disease pathology associated with MS and what the underlying mechanisms are. In this study, we determined the influence of HFD on the severity and pathology of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS. Mice were fed either normal diet (ND) or HFD and subsequently induced with EAE. Immunohistochemical staining and real-time PCR were used to determine immune cell infiltration and inflammatory mediators in the central nervous system (CNS). Our data show that HFD increases immune cell infiltration and inflammatory mediator production in the CNS and thereby aggravates EAE. Moreover, our data demonstrate that activation of the renin angiotensin system (RAS) is associated with the HFD-mediated effects on EAE severity. These results show that HFD exacerbates an autoreactive immune response within the CNS. This indicates that diets containing excess fat have a significant influence on neuroinflammation in EAE, which may have important implications for the treatment and prevention of neuroinflammatory disorders.

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Acknowledgments

We thank W. Leyssens, K. Wauterickx and A. Kerksiek for their technical assistance and animal handling. This work was supported by grants from the Agentschap voor Innovatie door Wetenschap en Technologie (IWT) and Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biomedical Research Institute, School of Life Sciences, Hasselt University/Transnational University Limburg, Agoralaan Building C, B3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium

    Silke Timmermans, Jeroen F. J. Bogie, Tim Vanmierlo, Piet Stinissen, Niels Hellings & Jerome J. A. Hendriks

  2. Laboratory for Special Lipid Diagnostics/Center, Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology, University Clinics of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Dieter Lütjohann

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  1. Silke Timmermans
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  2. Jeroen F. J. Bogie
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  3. Tim Vanmierlo
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  5. Piet Stinissen
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  7. Jerome J. A. Hendriks
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Correspondence to Jerome J. A. Hendriks.

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Timmermans, S., Bogie, J.F.J., Vanmierlo, T. et al. High Fat Diet Exacerbates Neuroinflammation in an Animal Model of Multiple Sclerosis by Activation of the Renin Angiotensin System. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol 9, 209–217 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11481-013-9502-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11481-013-9502-4

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