T lymphocyte clones and experimental autoimmune diseases.

This article reviews some of the lessons derived from our use of T lymphocyte lines and clones to study three experimental autoimmune diseases: experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, experimental autoimmune thyroiditis and adjuvant arthritis. In each of these disease models we have raised lines and clones of T lymphocytes of the helper phenotype that are specifically autoimmune. These T lymphocytes were used to investigate the pathogenesis of disease. Lines and clones were also exploited to induce resistance to disease.