T cell activation by autoantigens in multiple sclerosis.

A panel of autoantigens (myosin, actin, myelin basic protein MBP, and thyroglobulin) was used to analyze antigen recognition by the peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) of patients with active and stable multiple sclerosis (MS), patients with other neurological diseases (OND) and healthy individuals. The immune responsiveness was studied by examining the in vitro cell proliferation and the increase in the expression of two T-cell-surface activation markers (the interleukin-2 receptor IL-2R, and a late activation antigen recognized by the 19.2 monoclonal antibody). In MS, autoantigen recognition occurred more frequently than in the other groups and it was manifested by moderate proliferation or marked elevation of the expression of the IL-2R, whereas autoantigen recognition in the other groups concerned essentially the expression of the late activation antigen. Results similar to those described above were obtained with enriched T lymphocytes either in the presence or absence of IL-2. Our results suggest that the peripheral immune system in MS patients may recognize and can be activated by different autoantigens and not only by MBP, and that this response is quantitatively and qualitatively different from that of PBL from OND patients and healthy individuals.