DELINEATION OF 2 ENCEPHALITOGENIC MYELIN BASIC-PROTEIN EPITOPES FOR DA RATS

We studied synthetic peptides that correspond to two regions of the gu inea pig myelin basic protein (MBP) molecule which elicit experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in DA rats. Using truncated peptid es, we determined that two encephalitogenic epitopes reside within MBP 63-81, a major determinant defined by MBP residues, 63-76, and a minor encephalitogenic epitope defined by residues, 66-81, Experiments with alanine-substituted analogs of MBP63-76 revealed that the HYGSLP sequ ence is critical for encephalitogenicity. The core epitope within a se cond encephalitogenic region, MBP101-120, was defined by residues, 106 -119. Studies with analogs of this sequence indicated that residues, L eu 111, Phe 114 and Trp 116 are important for T-cell responsiveness. ( C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.