Cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytes from patients with multiple sclerosis and aseptic meningo-encephalitis respond in mixed lymphocyte culture.

Proliferative responses of cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytes (CSF-L) and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and aseptic meningo-encephalitis (AM) were tested in allogeneic mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC). PBL from various sources (MS, AM, healthy subjects) were used as stimulator cells. CSF-L from 10 of 13 patients with MS and all 15 patients with AM were MLC-reactive to an extent not significantly different from that of PBL. No consistent differences in mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) patterns were registered in MS when clinical (exacerbation, age at onset, duration of disease, disability) and CSF variables (mononuclear cell count, CSF IgG index) or presence of HLA Dw2 were considered. The MLC response of PBL obtained from MS and AM patients did not differ significantly from that of healthy individuals. The results contrast with our previous observation of low proliferative response of MS CSF-L to mitogens. Clonal expansion of alloreactive CSF-L offers the possibility of further studies of their characteristics.