Suppression of acute experimental allergic encephalomyelitis by synthetic serum thymic factor. Clinical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical studies.

Acute experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) was induced in Hartley guinea pigs and Lewis rats, which were then treated with synthetic serum thymic factor (FTS). When a dose of 30 micrograms/100 g body weight of FTS was subcutaneously administered to the animals on days--1 (before inoculation), 4, 9 and 15 intermittently, clinical symptoms of acute EAE were suppressed. Histopathological evaluation showed that the severity of EAE in FTS-treated guinea pigs was less than in untreated guinea pigs. Immunohistochemical examination showed that the numbers of OX6+, W3/25+, W3/13+ and OX19+ cells in FTS-treated rats were less than in untreated rats and that the number of OX8+ cells in FTS-treated rats was greater than in untreated rats. These findings suggest that FTS induced OX8+ cells in inflammatory lesions and suppressed inflammation in acute EAE.