98474-59-0

Multiple sclerosis is the most common autoimmune disorder affecting the central nervous system. In this study, whole blood samples are analyzed for activation capacity and the activatability of CD4 ⁺ and CD8 ⁺ T-lymphocytes by human total myelin basic protein (MBP), human MBP 104-118 fragment, and guinea pig MBP (68-82) fragment. A significant increase in the number of activated T-lymphocytes was observed in the whole blood. For all three tested MBPs, this increase in activated CD4 ⁺ and CD8 ⁺ T-lymphocytes is statistically significant (p<0.01). However, this increase in activated T-cells is most prominent following incubation with human total MBP, followed by human 104-118 fragment; the smallest increase is observed following incubation with guinea pig MBP (68-82) fragment (human total MBP>huMBP-104-118>guinea pig MBP (68-82)).

Whether pretreatment with bee venom acupuncture (BVA) from the same day of MBP (68-82) immunization can affect the induction and progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and weight loss is examined. At 5-9 days after immunization, rats in the myelin basic protein (MBP) group start displaying partial loss of tail tonus (clinical signs, 0.5) in a freely moving environment. At 10-16 days after immunization, most of the rats in the MBP group display more severe symptoms of neurological deficit including paraparesis of the hindlimb, paraplegia, tetraparesis, and tetraplegia. In contrast, rats in the MBP + BVA group display relatively slight neurological deficits in a dose-dependent manner at 11-15 days after immunization, compared to the rats in the MBP group. The onset of symptoms is slightly delayed (BVA 0.8 mg/kg, 6.4±0.6 days) and the maximal clinical score is markedly decreased (BVA 0.25 mg/kg, 3.7±0.2; BVA 0.8 mg/kg, 2.8±0.3), compared to that in the MBP group. At this time, the mean body weight of rats in the MBP group is decreased as compared to that of rats in the normal group, but it is significantly increased in rats of the MBP + BVA group as compared to rats in the MBP group.