Lymphoblastic transformation in response to viral antigens in multiple sclerosis

The blastogenic response of lymphocytes to pokeweed mitogen and a battery of viral antigens was studied in healthy individuals, patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and patients with other neurologic disorders. The multiple sclerosis patients exhibited a diminished response to pokeweed mitogen and to mumps, parainfluenza, and poliomyelitis I antigens when compared with healthy individuals. However, there was no significant difference between the multiple sclerosis patients and the neurologic control group, except that the MS patients had a better response to measles antigen. The three groups did not differ with regard to herpes antigen. Blocking factors were found in the autologous plasma of all three groups with approximately equal frequency, but were not responsible for the decreased responses noted. A significant inverse correlation was found between disease severity and the blastogenic response to pokeweed mitogen and herpes, parainfluenza, and measles antigens. These findings indicate that the decreased cell-mediated immune response in some MS patients is not specific for any of the viruses tested, and is probably a nonspecific effect of chronic disease. Patients with the relapsing-remitting form of the disease had a higher response to measles antigen and a lower response to pokeweed mitogen than patients with the chronic progressive form of the disease, suggesting that these variants differ immunologically as well as clinically.