Enhanced transfer of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis with strain 13 guinea pig lymph node cells: requirement for culture with specific antigen and allogeneic peritoneal exudate cells.

Previously, we reported that transfer of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) with sensitized peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) in strain 13 guinea pigs is markedly enhanced if the cells are first cultured with specific antigen, myelin basic protein (BP). These cells also undergo considerable antigen-specific proliferation. In contrast, the data reported here show that lymph node cells (LNC) from sensitized animals display neither enhanced transfer nor antigen-specific proliferation after culture with BP. Enhanced transfer is obtained, however, if a second nonspecific signal is available. This second signal is provided by the presence of normal allogeneic strain 2 PEC in culture. After culture with BP and strain 2 PEC, 2.5 to 5 x 10(7) strain 13 LNC transfer disease reproducibly, in contrast with approximately 1 x 10(9) previously required for successful transfer. Addition of allogeneic or syngeneic PEC without antigen does not lead to enhanced transfer by LNC. Culture with normal syngeneic PEC plus BP oly infrequently enhances transfer by LNC. The intense mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) induced by addition of strain 2 PEC to strain 13 LNC precludes the use of 3H-TdR incorporation for detection of proliferation by EAE effector cells. However, inhibition of transfer with low doses of mitomycin C (2 to 5 micrograms/ml) pluse the fact that EAE effector cells are found almost exclusively in the light fraction of BSA gradients after (but not before) culture suggests that the latter are induced to proliferate in culture.