PERSISTENCE OF AN ENCEPHALITOGENIC T-CELL CLONE IN THE SPINAL-CORD DURING CHRONIC, RELAPSING EXPERIMENTAL AUTOIMMUNE ENCEPHALOMYELITIS

The CDR3 region of the TCR beta-chain of a CD4(+), Th1, V beta 2(+) en cephalitogenic T cell clone was used as an idiotypic marker to track t he location of the clone in vivo. cDNA prepared from the spinal cord, thymus, lymph nodes, spleen, and liver of the recipients at various st ages of EAE was amplified using V beta 2 and C beta-region primers, an d the products immobilized. The membrane was probed with a P-32-labele d oligonucleotide complementary to the CDR3 region of the T cell clone . The probe reacted strongly with products from the spinal cord, splee n and liver and less strongly with products from lymph nodes and thymu s of mice with acute EAE. The signal was greatly diminished in the spi nal cord and other tissues during recovery from acute disease and reap peared in the spinal cord at each relapse. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B .V. All rights reserved.