Role of CD8+ T cells in murine experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.

The course of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model for multiple sclerosis, is affected by immunoregulatory T lymphocytes. When animals are immunized with encephalitogenic peptide of myelin basic protein and recover from the first episode of EAE, they become resistant to a second induction of this disease. Animals depleted of CD8+ T cells by antibody-mediated clearance were used to examine the role of CD8+ T cells in EAE. These cells were found to be major participants in the resistance to a second induction of EAE but were not essential for spontaneous recovery from the first episode of the disease.