The rapid isolation of clonable antigen-specific T lymphocyte lines capable of mediating autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

The isolation and propagation of functional antigen-specific lines of T lymphoblasts is described. These lines were found to recognize foreign or self antigens in association with accessory cells of syngeneic major histocompatibility complex genotype. Intravenous inoculation of a T cell reactive only against myelin basic protein led to development of clinical paralysis in syngeneic rats. Thus, it is possible to study biological function as well as antigen specificity using T cell lines.