Figure 4. B cell depletion attenuates MOG-specific antibody production.

B6 mice were treated with CD20 (closed circles) or control (open circles) mAb 7 days before or 14 days after MOG immunization. Sera were collected 18 days (peak phase) and 28 days (recovery phase) after MOG immunization, with IgM and IgG MOG-specific antibody levels quantified by ELISA. Horizontal bars indicate mean values. Dashed lines indicate mean MOG-specific antibody values for unimmunized mice (n = 6). Significant differences between CD20 and control mAb–treated groups are indicated; *P < 0.01, **P < 0.001. Similar results were obtained in 2 independent experiments.