Erythropoietin and autoimmune neuroinflammation: lessons from experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and experimental autoimmune neuritis

Erythropoietin (EPO) is known to have numerous biological functions. While its primary function is during haematopoiesis, recent studies have shown that EPO plays important role in cytoprotection, immunomodulation, and anti-apoptosis. These secondary functions of EPO are integral to tissue protection following hypoxic injury, ischemia-reperfusion injury, and spinal cord injury in the central nervous system. This review focuses on experimental evidence documenting the neuroprotective effects of EPO in organ-specific autoimmune nervous system disorders such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN). In addition, the immunomodulatory role of EPO in the pathogenesis of EAE and EAN animal models of human multiple sclerosis and Guillain-Barré syndrome, respectively, will be discussed.