MIG--differential gene expression in mouse brain endothelial cells.

Different diseases of the CNS are associated with blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage and mononuclear cell infiltration. In order to study genes that may play a role in endothelial cell regulation in inflammatory CNS diseases, we performed differential gene expression (DGE) analysis using a mouse brain endothelial cell line. We found that interferon-gamma (IFNgamma)-induced monokine (MIG), a chemokine that plays a role in T lymphocyte and monocyte chemoattraction, is highly expressed in the presence of inflammatory cytokines. We show that MIG, produced by brain endothelial cells in vitro, is biologically active in attractingT lymphocytes and that it is possible to interfere with this mechanism of action using anti-MIG antibodies. We suggest that blocking MIG may be beneficial in CNS inflammation. We detected constitutive expression of the MIG receptor, CXCR3, on the surface of the endothelial cells and therefore hypothesize that it plays a role in maintaining the cytokine gradient at the region of CNS inflammation.