Autoreactive T and B cells responding to myelin proteolipid protein in multiple sclerosis and controls

作者：Jiabin Sun, Tomas P Olsson, Weizhi Wang, Bao‐Guo Xiao, Vasilios Kostulas, S. Fredrikson, Hans-Peter T. Ekre, Hans Link · 发表于：European Journal of Immunology · 年份：1991 · DOI：10.1002/eji.1830210620 · 被引用次数：258 · 研究领域：Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Research、Immunotherapy and Immune Responses、Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research

The pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) could involve an autoimmune response to proteolipid protein (PLP). Immunization of experimental animals with this major myelin protein can lead to experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. To identify a possible role of PLP as target antigen in MS, we evaluated T cell immunity to PLP in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with MS and controls by counting cells which in response to PLP in short-term cultures secreted interferon-gamma. The PLP-specific B cell response was analyzed by counting cells secreting anti-PLP antibodies. PLP-reactive T cells were detected in blood of most MS patients (mean value 1 per 20,408 mononuclear cells), and at 41-fold higher numbers in CSF (mean 1 per 500 CSF cells). Anti-PLP IgG antibody-secreting cells were detected in blood from most MS patients (mean 1 per 30,303 cells), but such cells were 49-fold more frequent in CSF (mean 1 per 625 cells). PLP-reactive T and B cells were also detected in blood and CSF from control patients, but at much lower numbers. A strong and persistent autoimmune response to PLP as well as to other myelin proteins, enriched in CSF, is proposed to be pathogenetically important in MS.