Epitope-Specific Tolerance Modes Differentially Specify Susceptibility to Proteolipid Protein-Induced Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis.

ABSTRACT: Immunization with myelin components can elicit experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). EAE susceptibility varies between mouse strains, depending on the antigen employed. BL/6 mice are largely resistant to EAE induction with proteolipid protein (PLP), probably a reflection of antigen-specific tolerance. However, the extent and mechanism(s) of tolerance to PLP remain unclear. Here, we identified three PLP epitopes in PLP-deficient BL/6 mice. PLP-sufficient mice did not respond against two of these, whereas tolerance was "leaky" for an epitope with weak predicted MHCII binding, and only this epitope was encephalitogenic. In TCR transgenic mice, the "EAE-susceptibility-associated" epitope was "ignored" by specific CD4 T cells, whereas the "resistance-associated" epitope induced clona

SUBMITTER: Wang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5684123 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature