Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis: activation of suppressor T lymphocytes by a modified sequence of the T effector determinant

Abstract

Deletion of certain amino acid residues from the amino acid sequence of the encephalitogenic determinant for guinea pigs, H-Phe-Ser-Trp-Gly-Ala-Glu-Gly-Gln-Lys-OH, destroyed its ability to induce experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), a cell-mediated autoimmune disease of myelin. The administration of the modified determinant in the form of 4 repeating pentameric sequences, H-(Phe-Ser-Trp-Gln-Lys)4-Gly-OH, activated an antigen-specific T suppressor lymphocyte subset that rendered both presensitized donors and recipients of donor T lymphocytes unresponsive to an encephalitogenic challenge. Treatment of donors or recipients with cyclophosphamide before or after lymphocyte transfer, respectively, obliterated the ability of peptide S42-sensitized T lymphocytes to induce a state of unresponsiveness to an EAE-challenge. The results establish the existence of antigenic determinants for both immunoinduction and immunoregulation of EAE. The immunoregulatory determinant that activates antigen-specific and cyclophosphamide-sensitive suppressor T lymphocyte subset is sequestered within the disease-inducing or T effector determinant.