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Glatiramer acetate (GA) therapy induces a focused, oligoclonal CD8+ T-cell repertoire in multiple sclerosis

Brian W Biegler1, Shirley X Yan, Sterling B Ortega

  • 1Department of Pathology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390-9072, USA.

Journal of Neuroimmunology
|August 29, 2006
PubMed

We have demonstrated that GA therapy induces a differential upregulation of GA-specific, cytotoxic/suppressor CD8+ T-cell responses in MS patients. We utilized a novel combination of flow sorting and anchored PCR to analyze the evolving clonal composition of GA-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells. TCRbeta chain analysis revealed the development of an oligoclonal GA-specific CD8+ repertoire with persistence of dominant clones over long periods. Interestingly, some sequences resembled published oligoclonal CD8+ TCR sequences from MS lesions. In contrast, GA-specific CD4+ responses were polyclonal and showed continual evolution of their repertoire. This clonotypic and functional analysis provides mechanistic insights into GA therapy.

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