Passive transfer of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis induced by proteolipid apoprotein

Abstract In an attempt to obtain insight into the pathogenesis of proteolipid apoprotein (PLP)-induced experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Lewis rats (Yamamura et al. 1986), PLP-sensitized lymph node cells or spleen cells were passively transferred into normal or irradiated (400 rad) recipients after incubation with concanavalin A or PLP. Clinical EAE manifested by paraparesis was successfully transferred into irradiated recipients with 2 − 2.5 × 10 8 of the primary cultured cells and histologic EAE could be transferred with as few as 5 × 10 7 cells into naive recipients. This is the first demonstration of passive EAE induced with PLP-sensitized lymphoid cells and suggests the pathogenetic importance of cell-mediated immunity to PLP.