Increased frequency of recognition of delipidated versus intact CNS myelinin multiple sclerosis and control subjects

The proliferative response of mononuclear cells from MS patients and normal control subjects to intact and delipidated myelin membranes was examined. The mean frequency of recognition in both groups of human subjects was grea ter for delipidated myelin than for intact myelin. Human T cell lines estab lished using intact or delipidated myelin as the antigen were highly hetero geneous in response, and were each able to recognize myelin basic protein a nd myelin proteolipid protein peptides. However, there was no difference in the frequency of recognition of either form of myelin membrane when MS pat ients were compared to control subjects. Our results suggest that the prese ntation of delipidated forms of membrane proteins might enhance the respons e to myelin antigens in vivo, and be relevant to demyelinating diseases. (C ) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.