Submit a comment

Homologies between T cell receptor junctional sequences unique to multiple sclerosis and T cells mediating experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.
M Allegretta, R J Albertini, M D Howell, L R Smith, R Martin, H F McFarland, S Sriram, S Brostoff, L Steinman
M Allegretta, R J Albertini, M D Howell, L R Smith, R Martin, H F McFarland, S Sriram, S Brostoff, L Steinman
View: Text | PDF
Research Article

Homologies between T cell receptor junctional sequences unique to multiple sclerosis and T cells mediating experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.

Abstract

The selection of T cell clones with mutations in the hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (hprt) gene has been used to isolate T cells reactive to myelin basic protein (MBP) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). These T cell clones are activated in vivo, and are not found in healthy individuals. The third complementarity determining regions (CDR3) of the T cell receptor (TCR) alpha and beta chains are the putative contact sites for peptide fragments of MBP bound in the groove of the HLA molecule. The TCR V gene usage and CDR3s of these MBP-reactive hprt-T cell clones are homologous to TCRs from other T cells relevant to MS, including T cells causing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) and T cells found in brain lesions and in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of MS patients. In vivo activated MBP-reactive T cells in MS patients may be critical in the pathogenesis of MS.

Authors

M Allegretta, R J Albertini, M D Howell, L R Smith, R Martin, H F McFarland, S Sriram, S Brostoff, L Steinman

×

Guidelines

The Editorial Board will only consider comments that are deemed relevant and of interest to readers. The Journal will not post data that have not been subjected to peer review; or a comment that is essentially a reiteration of another comment.

  • Comments appear on the Journal’s website and are linked from the original article’s web page.
  • Authors are notified by email if their comments are posted.
  • The Journal reserves the right to edit comments for length and clarity.
  • No appeals will be considered.
  • Comments are not indexed in PubMed.

Specific requirements

  • Maximum length, 400 words
  • Entered as plain text or HTML
  • Author’s name and email address, to be posted with the comment
  • Declaration of all potential conflicts of interest (even if these are not ultimately posted); see the Journal’s conflict-of-interest policy
  • Comments may not include figures
This field is required
This field is required
This field is required
This field is required
This field is required
This field is required