Adoptive transfer of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in mice with the aid of pertussigen from Bordetella pertussis.

Adoptive transfer of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in (SJL X BALB/c)F1 mice was accomplished by an iv injection of 2.4 to 4.7 X 10(7) lymph node cells (LNC) from mice immunized with mouse spinal cord emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant when both donors and recipients had been treated iv with 400 ng of pertussigen at the time of immunization for the donors and on transfer of cells for the recipients. Pertussigen was essential in both donors and recipients for development of frank EAE. Signs of EAE in recipients were delayed, appearing 21-23 days after cell transfer; the maximum response at about Day 27 is considerably delayed in comparison with other reported studies on passive transfer of EAE. Histologically, recipient mice with paralysis due to EAE had typical perivascular infiltrates of mononuclear cells in the brain and spinal cord. The mechanisms by which pertussigen promotes the development of EAE after adoptive transfer of sensitized LNC are uncertain.