Human T lymphocyte response to myelin basic protein: selection of T lymphocyte lines from MBP-responsive donors.

The goal of this study was to delineate the importance of blood T lymphocyte responses to several myelin basic protein (MBP) preparations in the ultimate selection of MBP-specific T lymphocyte lines. Proliferation responses to human myelin basic protein (MBP) were assessed in blood samples from 27 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, 20 patients with other neurologic diseases (OND), and 26 normal subjects, using five MBP preparations with different histories and electrophoretic characteristics to enhance the spectrum of epitopes represented. Substantial variations were observed in the ability of different MBP preparations to induce blood T cell proliferation in a given donor. However, four out of five of the MBPs induced modest but significant proliferation in the MS study population relative to normal individuals, with intermediate responses occurring in OND patients. Positive responses occurred more frequently in MS patients (78%) than in normal donors (31%), and were an important prerequisite for the successful selection of MBP-specific T cell lines.