Responsiveness to P2 of blood- and cauda equina-derived lymphocytes in experimental allergic neuritis in the Lewis rat: preliminary characterisation of a P2-specific cauda equina-derived T cell line.

Experimental allergic neuritis (EAN) was induced in Lewis rats by immunisation with bovine spinal root myelin. Neurological signs appeared on day 12 and persisted for 10-15 days. A transient protein P2-specific proliferative response of circulating mononuclear cells was detected on days 10 and 14 after immunisation but not on days 17 and 35. Mononuclear cells recovered from cauda equina infiltrates on days 14 and 17 showed greater responsiveness to P2 than circulating cells. A P2-specific, interleukin-2-dependent T cell line has been developed from cauda equina (CE)-derived lymphocytes. In adoptive transfer experiments this cell line did not induce EAN but did protect normal recipients from actively induced EAN.