Conduction failure and nerve conduction slowing in experimental allergic neuritis induced by P2-specific T-cell lines

P2-specific T cells (LiP2/A) mediate experimental allergic neuritis (EAN) in the Lewis rat after adoptive transfer to naive recipients. After a latent period of 4 days, injection of 2 X 10(6) line cells induced fulminant paraplegia and complete conduction failure in the peripheral nerves and roots, resembling acute axonal breakdown. Injection with 10(6) cells caused milder clinical signs, nerve conduction failure, and conduction slowing. Clinical and electrophysiological recovery from adoptively transferred EAN was nearly complete and its time course was inversely correlated to the initial severity of EAN. These findings suggest that EAN induced by the P2-specific T-cell line can lead to a profound and rapidly evolving nerve dysfunction in a dose-dependent fashion.