Figure 5.

AChR-specific T-cell responses from spleen cells are specifically inhibited by oral administration of peptide Tα146-162. Proliferative responses of splenic T cells from Tα146-162–fed mice (n = 7) were compared with PBS-treated animals (n = 12) (a). T cells were challenged with different concentrations of peptide Tα146-162 and TAChR. Proliferative responses of splenic T cells from peptide-treated animals were significantly reduced at all the concentrations of antigens used. The same pattern was obtained when the experiment was repeated and Tα146-162–fed animals (n = 12) were compared with control peptide–fed mice (n = 10) (b). Results are expressed as mean cpm ± SEM; P < 0.01 for each concentration of antigen used in both experiments.