Specific proliferation towards myelin antigens in patients with multiple sclerosis during a relapse

Whether autoreactive T cells from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients display a certain autoreactive pattern is controversial. In this study, we have analyzed reactivity towards myelin basic protein (MBP), myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), alpha B-crystallin and S100beta antigens in 35 relapsing-remitting MS patients and 12 healthy controls (HC). During relapse, we observed T-specific proliferation towards MBP (15.8%), MOG (38.9%), alpha B-crystallin (11.1%) and S100beta (26.3%) in MS patients. Reactivity to MBP (12%), MOG (28%), alpha B-crystallin (28%) and S100beta (19.2%) was also observed in HC. There were changes in the specific proliferation in consecutive samples obtained from either patients or HC. Such fluctuations did not follow any specific or conservative patterns. Antigen-specific cytokine production was also assessed as a method to evaluate whether there were differences in the qualitative response between MS patients and HC, with negative results. In summary, we show here that the reactivity patterns, as measured by specific proliferation and cytokine production, are similar in RR-MS patients and HC and fluctuate over time.