Figure 1.

Proteolipid protein (PLP) epitopes and epitope-specific experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) susceptibility in BL/6 mice. (A) Plp^KO BL/6 mice were immunized with PLP protein. Nine days later, draining lymph node cells were re-stimulated in vitro with overlapping 25-mers spanning the entire PLP protein. Responses to peptides are shown as proliferation indices. (B) Fine mapping of epitopes with overlapping 12-mer peptides. (C) CD4 T cell recall response of Plp^KO or Plp^WT mice upon immunization with 12-mer peptides containing the core epitopes #1, #2, and #3. (D) EAE symptoms in Plp^WT mice upon immunization with the 12-mer peptides PLP_9–20 (n = 6) or PLP_172–183 (n = 7) together with administration of pertussis toxin on days 0 and 2. Data in panels (A–C) are from individual mice representative for n ≥ 5 each.