ACCUMULATION OF PASSIVELY TRANSFERRED PRIMED T-CELLS INDEPENDENTLY OFTHEIR ANTIGEN-SPECIFICITY FOLLOWING CENTRAL-NERVOUS-SYSTEM TRAUMA

The central nervous system (CNS) enjoys a unique relationship with the immune system. Under non-pathological conditions, T cells move throug h the CNS but do not accumulate there. CNS trauma has been shown to tr igger a response to CNS self-antigens such as myelin basic protein (MB P). Here, we examined whether the injured CNS tissue undergoes changes that permit T cell accumulation. We found that injury to CNS white ma tter, such as the optic nerve, led to a transiently increased accumula tion of T cells (between days 3 and 21). In Lewis rats with unilateral ly injured optic nerves, systemic administration of passively transfer red T cells recognizing either self-antigen (MBP) or non-self-antigen (ovalbumin) resulted in accumulation of the T cells in injured optic n erve, irrespective of their antigenic specificity. The effect of the T cells on the damaged nerve, the lack of selectivity in T cell accumul ation and the mechanism underlying non-selective accumulation are disc ussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.