Binding of 125I-labelled encephalitogenic basic protein to normal lymphocytes. Inhibition with multiple sclerosis serum.

A sheep lymphocyte 125I-labelled human encephalitogenic basic protein (125I-BP) binding assay was used to study the correlation of 125I-BP binding with the diagnosis and status of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. MS serum generally caused significant inhibition of binding, and serum from MS patients in remission caused significantly more inhibition than serum from MS patients in relapse. Serum inhibition increased in association with improvement in neurological status in three out of four MS patients studied for more than 10 months.