Vaccination with a MHC class II peptide in Alum and inactive pertussis strongly ameliorates clinical MG in C57BL/6 mice

Oshima, Minako; Maruta, Takahiro; Ohtani, Maki; Deitiker, Philip R.; Mosier, DennisR.; Atassi, M. Zouhair

doi:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2005.09.015

« Previous Next »Journal of Neuroimmunology
Volume 171, Issue 1 , Pages 8-16, February 2006

Vaccination with a MHC class II peptide in Alum and inactive pertussis strongly ameliorates clinical MG in C57BL/6 mice

Minako Oshima
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 713 798 6387; fax: +1 713 798 6437.
- These authors contributed equally.
Takahiro Maruta
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- These authors contributed equally.
Maki Ohtani
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Philip R. Deitiker
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA
DennisR. Mosier
- Department of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Neurology and Medical Research Services, M.E. DeBakey V.A. Medical Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
M. Zouhair Atassi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA

Received 4 May 2005; received in revised form 15 August 2005; accepted 9 September 2005. published online 08 November 2005.

Abstract

We have investigated the efficacy of immunization against peptides from predisposing MHC class II molecules in human-compatible adjuvants for ameliorating experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG). C57BL/6 mice were immunized three times with the peptide I-Aβ^b62–76 in Alum+killed pertussis organisms (PT) prior to two injections with tAChR. The treatment greatly reduced the occurrence and severity of clinical MG relative to controls that received saline/Alum+PT or none. It also reduced antibody and T-cell responses against tAChR. The results have important implications for the possible immunotherapy of MG by targeting disease-associated MHC.