Expansion of antigen-specific T cells from cerebrospinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis

We have expanded cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) T lymphocytes obtained from four patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Fresh CSF cells were placed into culture with medium, interleukin-2, irradiated autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and either myelin basic protein (BP) or measles virus antigen. Two CSF cell lines demonstrated a mild degree of antigen-specific proliferation to BP, a third reacted with measles virus, and the fourth demonstrated no known antigenic specificity. The percentage of HLA-DR + cells was increased in all four cell lines. The culture procedure has thus selected for a population of activated T cells, some of which demonstrate reactivity with antigens of potential relevance to the pathogenesis of MS.