Monoclonal anti-T cell antibodies are applicable to the study of inflammatory infiltrates in the central nervous system.

Monoclonal anti-human T cell antibodies were tested by a modified PAP technique on frozen sections of human central nervous system (CNS) tissue from inflammatory and non-inflammatory conditions. It was found that whole T cells and T cell subsets--T4+ (helper-inducer) and T8+ (suppressor/cytotoxic) T cells--could be differentiated specifically from other mononuclear cells and that these markers did not cross-react with human CNS tissue elements, particularly oligodendrocytes, under the same conditions. The lack of cross-reactivity between monoclonal antibodies to T cells and oligodendrocytes was further confirmed by double-labelling with an anti-galactocerebroside serum. It is concluded that in inflammatory conditions like multiple sclerosis, monoclonal antibodies promise considerable elucidation of immunopathogenetic events.