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Conjugal multiple sclerosis

Immunogenetic characterization and analysis of T- and B-cell reactivity to myelin proteins

Department of Neurology, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge University Hospital, NOVUM, Huddinge, Sweden Drs. Fredrikson, Michelsberg, Hillert, Wang, Sun, Olsson, and Link)
Department of Clinical Immunology, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge University Hospital, NOVUM, Huddinge, Sweden (Dr. Olerup)
Center for Biotechnology, Karolinska Institutet, NOVUM, Huddinge, Sweden (Drs. Hillert and Olerup).

We describe two families with conjugal multiple sclerosis. Onset of symptoms in the husbands occurred 11 and 17 years after onset of relapsing/remitting symptoms in their wives. There were no similarities regarding clinical manifestations of MS within each family. Evaluation of T-cell repertoire by enumeration of cells secreting interferon-gamma in response to proteolipid protein (PLP), myelin basic protein (MBP), and to various synthetic MBP peptides revealed similar patterns of T-cell reactivity within the families both in MS-affected parents and unaffected children. Genomic HLA-DR-DQ typing showed that T-cell reactivity was independent of HLA class II phenotype. Analysis of B-cell responses in blood showed low numbers of cells secreting IgG, IgA, or IgM antibodies against MBP, PLP, myelin-associated glycoprotein, and myelin-oligodendrocyte glycoprotein both in MS-affected and unaffected family members. In conclusion, our study of two families with conjugal MS has shown a dominant T-cell response against the same MBP peptide within the family both in MS-affected parents and unaffected children, and this T-cell response seems to be independent of the HLA class II phenotypes of the family members.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Sten Fredrikson, Department of Neurology, Karolinska Institutet, S-141 86 Huddinge, Sweden.

Supported in part by grants from the Swedish Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (NHR), Karolinska Institutet Research Foundation, and Swedish Medical Research Council.

Received April 16, 1991. Accepted for publication in final form August 8, 1991.

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