Bacterial expression and purification of shMOG/E, shPLP215, and hmTAP, and their recognition by epitope-specific T cells. (a) Coomassie blue–stained SDS-PAGE analyses: lane 1, before IPTG induction; lane 2, after IPTG induction (15 μl, equivalent to 150 μl of bacterial culture); and lane 3, purified recombinant protein (5–10 μg). (b) Proliferative response by SJL/J PLP139-151–specific line T cells (left panel) and C3H.SW MOG 35-55–specific line T cells (right panel) to PLP139-151 (2.5 μg/ml), shPLP215 (10 μg/ml), or hmTAP (25 μg/ml), and to MOG35-55 (2.5 μg/ml), shMOG/E (10 μg/ml), or hmTAP (25 μg/ml), respectively.