Genetic control of antibody production to myelin basic protein in mice.

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a disease produced by inoculation of myelin basic protein (BP) into susceptible animals. Data in this report link the production of anti-BP antibody to the murine H-2 histocompatibility background. H-2k and H-2a animals produce high levels of anti-BP antibodies as measuring during both primary and secondary immune responses. Strains with H-2b,d,p,q,s haplotypes are poor responders after primary immunization; however some H-2s and H-2d animals showed an increase in antibody after boosting. The use of M. tuberculosis instead of M. butyricum resulted in greater antibody production in H-2d strains. The response observed in 4 congenic pairs of mice support the association between antibody formation and the H-2 complex. Experiments with recombination inbred strains indicate that responsible genes reside in the I-A region of the H-2 complex.