Mixed leukocyte reaction in rabbits with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Lymphocyte subpopulations in the cerebrospinal fluid and peripheral blood in patients with multiple sclerosis

The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were studied with respect to the frequency of lymphocytes with intracellular immunoblobulins of different Ig classes as well as the relative frequency of B and T lymphocytes. An increased number of Ig-postive cells were found in CSF (mean, 0.52%) when compared with blood (mean 0.18%). In CSF there was a striking dominance of IgG-postive cells, very few IgA-postive cells, and almost no IgM-postive cells. The distribution in blood was approximately normal. The ratios between chi- and lambda-postive cells in CSF were all outside the range in blood. In CSF there were fewer B cells (mean, 4.7%) and more T cells (mean 74.2%) when compared with blood (mean, 11.5%) and 61.8%, respectively). The values for MS blood were approximately the same as for normal controls. The increased number of IgG-containing cells in the CSF are in agreement with earlier studies, which showed a local immunoglobulin synthesis. The increased proportion of T lymphocytes in CSF of MS patients may indicate that these cells play a role in the pathogenesis of MS.

Mixed leukocyte reaction and hl-a specificity at multiple sclerosis

Compared with the mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR) between cells from healthy individuals, the MLR between cells from two patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is, on average, reduced in strength. There is a tendency for the most marked reduction of MLR to occur when both or neither of the members in a tested pair carry HL-A7, and when cells from patients in a relatively early stage of the disease (short duration, relapses but no permanent disablement) are studied; especially when cells from these patients are used as reactor clels in the MLR. Repeated studies of the same cell combinations with varying intervals showed that when both members of the pair carry HL-A7,--and therefore have a large chance also to carry LD-7a--the MLR strength is relatively constant. When only one or neither of the members carry HL-A7, the strength of MLR varies considerably. Probably two different mechanisms exist in MLR impairment: similarity of LD genes, and "immunosuppressive" factors which can vary during the course of the disease.