Humoral immune response in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in inbred chicken lines.

Chickens of the inbred IA line develop clinical signs of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) after immunization with myelin basic protein (MP) or spinal cord tissue (SCT). The disease is accompanied by convulsions and paralysis of wings and legs. EAE leads to a 100% mortality in IA line chickens. On the other hand, no clinical signs appear in WA line and (CB x IA) F1 chickens following immunization with either antigen. The IA line and (CB x IA)F1 chickens develop severe inflammatory changes in brain and spinal cord tissues after immunization with SCT, whereas no such alterations occur in WA line chickens. Immunization with MP does not lead to histopathological changes in any chicken line investigated. MP, however, induces high production of specific IgM antibodies in all lines. IgG antibody levels are elevated only in IA line chickens after immunization with either antigen.