Neuroinflammatory Regulation of Gold Nanoparticles Conjugated to Ethylene Dicysteine Diethyl Ester in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS). A large amount of proinflammatory cytokines is released in the CNS from the self-reactive T cells infiltrate, leading to the destruction of the myelin sheath and contributing to the development of MS. Several drugs have emerged in recent years to treat MS, and studies have shown that gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have anti-inflammatory properties in autoimmune diseases. Thus, the effects of GNP conjugation to ethylene dicysteine diethyl ester (ECD) were evaluated in C57BL/6 female mice exposed to experimental MS. Animals were exposed to experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE) induced by myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG35-55) in complete Freund’s adjuvant supplemented with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The clinical and cerebral effects of the different doses of ECD–GNPs (0.3, 0.6, and 1.0 mg/kg) were first studied, and the results showed that the group treated with 0.6 mg/kg ECD–GNPs improved clinical symptoms, inflammatory infiltrate, and myelin integrity. In the following step, GNPs and ECD–GNPs (0.6 mg/kg) showed improvements in the clinical signs of the disease. Moreover, there was a reduction in the levels of proinflammatory cytokines in both groups compared to EAE, and only the isolated use of GNPs increased IL-4 expression. Both NF-κB and TGFβ immunoexpression were significantly reduced following EAE + GNPs and EAE + ECD–GNPs treatment. In conclusion, GNPs and ECD–GNPs at 0.6 mg/kg attenuate the neurological signs of EAE likely due to inhibition of neuroinflammation induced by EAE.