Role of S-100 beta as potential autoantigen in an autoimmune disease of the inner ear

In Lewis rats, adoptive transfer of T cells specific for the calcium-bindin g protein S-100 beta mediates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, bu t surprisingly also induced a marked labyrinthitis associated with impairme nt of hearing. This suggests that transfer of S-100 beta-specific T cells i nto susceptible animals could be a novel model to study autoimmunity of inn er ear diseases. The investigation demonstrated in detail an inner ear invo lving, central nervous system (CNS)-specific autoimmune disease in order to identify a putatively shared autoantigen(s) in these pathologies. In fact, the model will be a useful tool to investigate in detail, the pathological mechanisms of the human inner ear disease associated with Vogt-Koyanagi-Ha rada disease. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.