Interferon in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE): effects of exogeneous interferon on the antigen-enhanced adoptive transfer of EAE.

The transfer of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) can be enhanced by incubating lymph node cells (LNC) from EAE rats with myelin basic protein (MBP). Addition of rat fibroblast interferon (RfIFN) to cultures of EAE-LNC just before the addition of MBP, resulted in the inhibition of the adoptive transfer of EAE. Both development of clinical signs, such as weight loss and hind limb paralysis, and histopathological lesions, lymphocytic perivascular infiltrates of the central nervous system, were inhibited by the addition of RfIFN to a final concentration of 300 U/ml or higher. This inhibition was dose dependent and appeared to be mediated primarily by the antiproliferative action of RfIFN.