Mitochondrial Uncoupler Prodrug of 2,4-Dinitrophenol, MP201, Prevents Neuronal Damage and Preserves Vision in Experimental Optic Neuritis

Figure 5

MP201 treatment does not suppress inflammation in optic nerves during EAE. To examine whether MP201 treatment prevents inflammation, optic nerves were isolated from mice 42 days postimmunization and stained with H&E to examine levels of cellular infiltration. (a) H&E-stained optic nerve longitudinal sections were examined by a blinded investigator, and inflammation was quantified on a 0–4 point scale. Optic nerves () from EAE mice showed significantly () higher inflammation scores compared to optic nerves () from control mice, and treatment with 16 mg/kg ( versus control, ) or 80 mg/kg ( versus control, ) showed no change in inflammation score compared to EAE. (b) A representative image of one optic nerve from a PBS-, 16 mg/kg MP201-, and 80 mg/kg MP201-treated EAE mouse each show increased numbers of cells, representative of inflammatory cell infiltration, as compared to an optic nerve from a control mouse (original magnification ×20).

(a)

(b)