BACKGROUND Multiple sclerosis (MS), as a multifactorial autoimmune disease with complex genetic basis, causes demyelination in the central nervous system via cytokine responses to myelin antigens. Myelin basic protein (MBP) is the main protein component of the myelin sheath. HLA-DRB (human leukocyte antigen-DR beta) alleles, particularly HLA-DRB1*1501, may be of significance in the pathogenesis...

The developmentally regulated myelin basic proteins (MBPs), which arise from the golli (gene of oligodendrocyte lineage) complex, are highly positively charged, intrinsically disordered, multifunctional proteins having several alternatively spliced isoforms and posttranslational modifications, and they play key roles in myelin compaction. The classic 18.5-kDa MBP isoform has a proline-rich regi...

Most brain gene expression studies of schizophrenia have been conducted in the frontal cortex or hippocampus. The extent to which alterations occur in other cortical regions is not well established. We investigated primary visual cortex (Brodmann area 17) from the Stanley Neuropathology Consortium collection of tissue from 60 subjects with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, or c...

We had previously reported that Acanthamoeba castellanii (ACA) contains a mimicry epitope for proteolipid protein 139–151 capable of inducing central nervous system (CNS) autoimmunity in SJL/J mice. We now present evidence that ACA also contains a mimicry epitope for myelin basic protein (MBP) 89–101, a derivative from amoebic nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase subunit 2 (NAD). The...

We had previously reported that Acanthamoeba castellanii (ACA) contains a mimicry epitope for proteolipid protein 139-151 capable of inducing central nervous system (CNS) autoimmunity in SJL/J mice. We now present evidence that ACA also contains a mimicry epitope for myelin basic protein (MBP) 89-101, a derivative from amoebic nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase subunit 2 (NAD). The...

Viral T antigens are transcription factors that have been suspected of inhibiting expression of the myelin basic protein (MBP) mRNA at the translational level in vitro and in vivo. The effect of simian virus 40 (SV40) large T antigen (T-ag) was examined on the translation of the 14-kDa MBP mRNA in reticulocyte lysates and on MBP expression after transfection into cells that express SV40 T-ag. S...

The molecular requirements for human myelination are incompletely defined, and further study is needed to fully understand the cellular mechanisms involved during development and in demyelinating diseases. We have established a human co-culture model to study myelination. Our earlier observations showed that addition of human γ-carboxylated growth-arrest-specific protein 6 (Gas6) to human oligo...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a severe central nervous system disease. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mimics MS in mice. We report that spontaneous development of EAE in RAG-1-deficient mice transgenic for a myelin basic protein (MBP)-specific TCR (TgMBP+/RAG-1-/-) requires expression of the T cell costimulatory molecule CD28. Surprisingly, T cells from CD28-/-TgMBP+/RAG-1-/- mice...