Homologies between T cell receptor junctional sequences unique to multiple sclerosis and T cells mediating experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.
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.
Allegretta
M
M
Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Beckman Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, California 94305-5429.
Albertini
R J
RJ
Howell
M D
MD
Smith
L R
LR
Martin
R
R
McFarland
H F
HF
Sriram
S
S
Brostoff
S
S
Steinman
L
L
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D004681:Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007041:Hypoxanthine Phosphoribosyltransferase / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D007041:Hypoxanthine Phosphoribosyltransferase