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Myelin reactive T cells in the autoimmune pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis

Dr L Willems-Instituut and Limburgs Universitair Centrum, Universitaire Campus, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium

Robert Medaer

Dr L Willems-Instituut and Limburgs Universitair Centrum, Universitaire Campus, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium

Jef Raus

Dr L Willems-Instituut and Limburgs Universitair Centrum, Universitaire Campus, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) leading to demyelination. Although it is widely accepted that demyelination in MS results from an active inflammatory process, the cause of the inflammation is still not completely resolved. Findings in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS, and observations in human MS have led to the hypothesis that MS is an autoimmune disease mediated by autoreactive T cells with specificity for myelin antigens. The identity of the brain antigen(s) which is (are) the primary target(s) of the autoimmune process is not known, but current evidence indicates that myelin basic protein (MBP) is a likely candidate. In this paper we will overview some of the experimental evidence suggesting that MBP reactive T cells hold a central position in the pathogenesis of MS, and discuss some of the currently tested therapeutic strategies in MS which are directed towards the pathogenic MBP reactive T cells. Although there appears to be no direct correlation between anti-MBP T cell responses and clinical disease activity, some recent observations suggest that monitoring of anti-MBP T cell responses could be helpful to study immunological efficacy of experimental immunotherapies in MS.

Key Words: multiple sclerosis • autoreactive T cells • autoimmunity • immunotherapy • myelin basic protein

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