Neuron. 2017 Dec 20;96(6):1290-1302. Comments from the lab:
Figure 1 is interesting to report that GCV induces anti-inflammatory IFN-beta and CXCL10.
Fig 2 was a good idea, but panels B, C and D are internally inconsistent with a 5 to 20 fold change in expression by GCV itself.
Figures 3-5 are really controls for the proposed mechanism. It is relatively well known already that anti-inflammatory IFN-beta and CXCL10 act through the Jak/STAT and STING/NFkb pathways. Consequentially, there will be, of course, no improvement in EAE (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a Multiple Sclerosis model) if these signalling pathways are inactivated. Not clear how this proves that GCV acts directly through IFN-beta or CXCL10.
Figure 7, etc. for disease-associate gene regulation by GCV do not report if the same genes are also similarly regulated by the FDA approved IFN-beta.
In Results: Analogs of GCV were tested only for induction of CXCL10, but not for IFN-beta.
It is not clear what advantage (theoretical or clinical) would be had from using GCV, and not just FDA approved IFN-beta, or CXCL10. Importantly, at low levels GCV is known to induce senescence (Cell Death Dis. 18;4:e727. 2013.199. Mitochondrial DNA damage induces apoptosis in senescent cells.), so the overall beneficial effects or mechanisms of action of GCV in brain remain unclear.
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