Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily expressed exclusively in central nervous system (CNS) myelin. While the function of MOG is unknown, a number of studies have shown that immune responses to MOG contribute to the autoimmune-mediated demyelination seen in animals immunized with whole CNS tissue. This paper summarizes our recent studies, which unequivocally demonstrate that MOG by itself is able to generate both an encephalitogenic T cell response and an autoantibody response in Lewis rats and in several strains of mice. In Lewis rats the injection of both native MOG and MOG35-55 peptide produces a paralytic relapsing-remitting neurological disease with extensive plaque-like demyelination. The antibody response to MOG35-55 was highly restricted, as no reactivity to either other MOG peptides or myelin proteins could be detected. Fine epitope mapping showed that antibody from serum and cerebrospinal fluid of injected rats reacted strongly to MOG37-46, which is contiguous to the dominant T cell epitope contained within MOG44-55. NOD/Lt and C57BL/6 mice were also susceptible to severe neurological disease following injection with recombinant MOG or MOG35-55 peptide, indicating that this specific CNS autoantigen, or some of its determinants, can induce a pathogenic response across animal species. Severe paralysis and extensive demyelination were seen in both strains, but NOD/Lt mice experienced a chronic relapsing disease whereas C57BL/6 mice had a chronic non-remitting disease. Moreover, transfer of MOG35-55 T cells into naive NOD/Lt mice also produced severe neurological impairment as well as histological lesions. These results emphasize that a synergism between a T cell-response and anti-MOG antibodies may be important for the development of severe demyelinating disease. This, together with our demonstration that there is a predominant T cell response to MOG in patients with multiple sclerosis, clearly indicates that MOG is probably an important target autoantigen in this disease.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model for multiple sclerosis, can be induced by immunization with a number of myelin antigens. In particular, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein, a central nervous system (CNS)-specific antigen expressed on the myelin surface, is able to induce a paralytic MS-like disease with extensive CNS inflammation and demyelination in several strains of animals. Although not well understood, the egress of immune cells into the CNS in EAE is governed by a complex interplay between pro and antiinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. The hematopoietic growth factor, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), is considered to play a central role in maintaining chronic inflammation. The present study was designed to investigate the previously unexplored role of GM-CSF in autoimmune-mediated demyelination. GM-CSF−/− mice are resistant to EAE, display decreased antigen-specific proliferation of splenocytes, and fail to sustain immune cell infiltrates in the CNS, thus revealing key activities for GM-CSF in the development of inflammatory demyelinating lesions and control of migration and/or proliferation of leukocytes within the CNS. These results hold implications for the pathogenesis of inflammatory and demyelinating diseases and may provide the basis for more effective therapies for inflammatory diseases, and more specifically for multiple sclerosis.

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) is postulated to be a target autoantigen in multiple sclerosis (MS). Here we investigated the encephalitogenicity of an immunodominant epitope of MOG, peptide 35-55, in various strains of mice. An MS-like disease was induced in NOD/Lt mice (H-2g7) and C57BL/6 mice (H-2b) by a single injection of MOG35-55 in CFA. The disease followed a relapsing-remitting course in NOD/Lt mice, whereas C57BL/6 mice developed a chronic paralytic disease. Histologically, the disease in both strains was characterized by cellular infiltration and multifocal demyelination in the CNS. Significant DTH type reactions to MOG35-55 were only seen in MOG-susceptible animals, with the NOD/Lt mice showing the strongest responses. Susceptible mice also showed specific antibody responses to MOG35-55 but not to a panel of other MOG peptides. These results provide further evidence for the role of MOG as a highly autoantigenic molecule capable of inducing severe demyelinating disease.

Summary Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an in¯ammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, and the most common neurological disease aecting young adults. Multiple sclerosis is a clinically heterogeneous disorder. It is believed to be an autoimmune disease, with cell-mediated and humoral responses directed against myelin proteins. This hypothesis largely comes from pathological parallels with an animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Autoimmunity to myelin proteins in humans may be inadvertently triggered by microbes which have structural homologies with myelin antigens (molecular mimicry). As with other autoimmune diseases, susceptibility to MS is associated with certain MHC genes/haplotypes. Full genomic screening of mutiplex families has underscored the role for MHC genes as exerting moderate but the most signi®cant eects in susceptibility. The primary target autoantigen in MS has yet to be de®nitively identi®ed, but as well as the major myelin proteins, it is now clear that minor myelin components, such as myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) may play a primary role in disease initiation. This review examines the current knowledge about the aetiology and pathogenesis of MS, and the important similarities with EAE. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of autoimmune pathology will provide the basis for more rational immunotherapies to treat MS.

The relative prevalence of Sendai virus-specific CD4+ T helper precursors (Thp) has been assessed by limiting dilution analysis (LDA). Within 10 days after intranasal inoculation of C57BL/6 mice, Thp prevalence increased from < 1 in 10(5) to approximately 1 in 200 in CD4+ T-cell-enriched spleen and mediastinal lymph node populations. These frequencies remained elevated relative to naive animals, with the majority of the Thp recovered at 2-3 months after infection being found in the spleen. The "memory" Thp express an "activated" L-selectin-low, CD44-high, alpha 4-integrin-high phenotype, comparable to that described previously for CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte precursors (CTLp) specific for Sendai virus. Background effects for the IL-2-based Thp analysis are, however, less predictable than those found previously for the 51Cr release CTLp LDA, as the extent of non-virus-specific lymphokine production varies. However, provided the analysis is appropriately controlled, the approach does allow useful comparisons between phenotypically different subsets of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells.