Biologically active components from mycobacterial cell walls. III. Production of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in guinea-pigs.

The efficacy of various fractions of mycobacterial cell walls in producing experimental ahlergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) has been evaluated. BCG (Bacillus-Calmette-Buérin) cell walls were effective in producing EAE in all animals at dose levels as low as 40 mug. Study of subfractions of these cell walls revealed the following: (1) wax D was active, but required larger doses than BCG cell walls; (2) the chloroform-methanol-soluble (CMS) portion of wax D and P3 (a mycolic acid-trehalose ester contained therein) were inactive; (3) the chloroform-methanol-insoluble (CMI) portion of wax D was active; (4) exhaustively delipidated cell wass skeletons of BCG, Nocardia asteroides, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Corynebacterium diphtheriae and M. kansaii were active; (5) two water-soluble adjuvants prepared from mycobacteria were active. These results suggest that the mycobacterial structure responsible for EAE adjuvanticity is present in the organic solvent-insoluble cell wall skeleton framework. The activity of wax D may be due to the presence of cell-wall skeleton constituents which are found in varying quanity in most wax D preparations. Wax D components soluble in a solution of chloroform:methanol (diluted 2:1 v/v) do not produce EAE.