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Glutamate joins the ranks of immunomodulators

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Elevated amounts of glutamate, which acts as a neurotransmitter but is also a neurotoxin, are a hallmark of the autoimmune neurological disease multiple sclerosis and may contribute to its pathology. The discovery that a receptor for glutamate can inhibit the development of autoimmunity and protect from neuroinflammation in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis suggests that glutamate may also have a protective role and that its receptor may represent a therapeutic target (pages 897–902).

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Figure 1: Glutamate activation of mGluR4 signaling in dendritic cells prevents the production of IL-6 and IL-23, favoring the development of Treg cells over TH17 cells in EAE.

Katie Vicari

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anna M. Hansen and Rachel R. Caspi are at the Laboratory of Immunology, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,

    Anna M Hansen & Rachel R Caspi

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  1. Anna M Hansen
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  2. Rachel R Caspi
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Correspondence to Rachel R Caspi.

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Hansen, A., Caspi, R. Glutamate joins the ranks of immunomodulators. Nat Med 16, 856–858 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0810-856

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