视神经脊髓炎（NMO）是一种以反复复发为特点的严重的中枢神经系统脱髓鞘性疾病，亚洲人群易感，致残率高。B细胞相关的体液免疫机制在NMO复发中起到了至关重要的作用。BAFF/BLys是B细胞存活和增殖所必需的细胞因子，在临床中我们发现，针对B细胞的靶向治疗药物可引起BAFF的显著升高，可能引起短期内的残余B细胞活化，导致疾病复发。BAFF阻断药物已被证实可以缓解多发性硬化、系统性红斑狼疮、类风湿关节炎的临床症状，但在NMO中尚未应用，亦无相关的临床及实验室证据支持。我们推测BAFF阻断药物可能对控制NMO复发有效。本课题组前期已通过鞘内置管反复注射AQP4-Ab的方法建立了大鼠NMO动物模型。本研究拟将BAFF及阻断剂应用于该动物模型，通过观察动物的行为学变化、组织病理学特点及中枢神经系统B淋巴细胞亚群变化，以期为NMO复发的致病机制及BAFF阻断剂在NMO谱系疾病中的应用提供基础。

Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) is a severe demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, and has high incidence among Asians. The recurrence of NMO may lead to high rate of morbidity. B Lymphocytes played an important role in the relapse of NMO, including production of AQP4-Ab and inflammatory factors, as well as T cell activation. BAFF/BLys is a key cytokine in B cell proliferation and survival. In clinical practice, we found that targeted therapy against B cells leads to significant elevation of blood BAFF, which may cause the short term activation of residual B cells and leading to disease recurrence. BAFF blocking therapy may attenuate the clinical symptoms of other autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, but has not been applied in NMO. In conclusion, we hypothesized that BAFF blocking therapy might be effective in preventing NMO recurrence. In the previous research, we established an animal model of Lewis rats through implantation of tiny catheter intrathecally for repeated administration of AQP4-Ab. This study intends to apply BAFF and BAFF blocking agent to the established animal model, and evaluate the animal behavioral performance, histopathological features and percentage of B lymphocyte subsets in the central nervous system, in order to interpret the pathogenic mechanisms of recurrent NMO and provide evidences for BAFF blocker application in NMO spectrum disorders.