title: Relapsing and remitting experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in B cell deficient mice.
abstract: Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an animal model for the human autoimmune central nervous system (CNS) disease multiple sclerosis (MS). To examine the role of B cells in EAE with a relapsing and remitting disease course (R-EAE) we generated (B10.PL x SJL/J)F1 mice deficient in B cells by disrupting their mu heavy chain transmembrane region (B10.PL x SJL/J)F1 muMT-/-. By immunizing (B10.PL x SJL/J)F1 and (B10.PL x SJL/J)F1 muMT-/- mice with the encephalitogenic N-terminal peptide Acl-11 of myelin basic protein (MBP), we observed that B-cell deficient mice exhibited a relapsing and remitting disease course. Since a similar day of onset and day of first relapse were observed these data suggest that B cells do not play a vital role in the activation of T cells leading to the initiation of EAE, nor in the reactivation of T cells resulting in R-EAE.
authors.affiliation: Section of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8011, USA. bonnie.dittel@yale.edu
authors.forename: B N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Dittel
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Urbania
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Janeway
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002645:Chickens; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D004681:Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000235:genetics; D007148:Immunoglobulin mu-Chains / Q000235:genetics; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009113:Muramidase / Q000276:immunology; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein / Q000276:immunology; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; D007148:Immunoglobulin mu-Chains; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D009113:Muramidase