Proteolipid protein (PLP) is the most abundant transmembrane protein in myelin of the central nervous system. Conflicting models of PLP topology have been generated by computer predictions based on its primary sequence and experiments with purified myelin. We have examined the initial events in myelin synthesis, including the insertion and orientation of PLP in the plasma membrane, in rat oligo...

Cross-reactive activation of potentially autoreactive T cells by high-affinity nonself ligands may be important in breaking self-tolerance in autoimmunity. In a mouse transgenic for a cross-reactive TCR, we have previously shown that a hyper-stimulating altered peptide ligand, L144, induced unresponsiveness to the self peptide, proteolipid protein 139-151. In this study, we demonstrate that a s...

The shape of enveloped viruses depends critically on an internal protein matrix, yet it remains unclear how the matrix proteins control the geometry of the envelope membrane. We found that matrix proteins purified from Newcastle disease virus adsorb on a phospholipid bilayer and condense into fluidlike domains that cause membrane deformation and budding of spherical vesicles, as seen by fluores...

1. Rat cerebral-cortex slices were incubated with 32pl, acetylcholine and eserine for periods of 10min and 2h. The specific radioactivity of phosphatidylinositol was elevated during these treatments by 36 and 106% respectively. 2. The specific radioactivities of the phosphatidylinositol in different cell structures were determined after subcellular fractionation. They were highest in the nuclea...

Studies of lipid-protein interactions in double-reconstituted systems involving both integral and peripheral or lipid-anchored proteins are reviewed. Membranes of dimyristoyl phosphatidylglycerol containing either myelin proteolipid protein or cytochrome c oxidase were studied. The partner peripheral proteins bound to these membranes were myelin basic protein or cytochrome c, respectively. In a...

The interactions of lipids with integral and peripheral proteins can be studied in reconstituted and natural membranes using spin label electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The ESR spectra reveal a reduction in mobility of the spin-labelled lipid species, and in certain cases evidence is obtained for a partial penetration of the peripheral proteins into the membrane. The latter may be re...

In experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the production of proinflammatory cytokines by neuroantigen-specific T cells is thought to initiate and maintain the inflammatory autoimmune pathology. Because gene knockout strategies have shown that IFN-gamma and TNF are not essential for EAE development, there is increasing interest in establishing the role of other proinflammatory cytokine...

The use of immunohistochemical methods has led to a new understanding of the prevalence and significance of cortical lesions in multiple sclerosis but these lesions have not yet been formally described in an animal model. In this study we have set out to use immunohistochemical techniques to identify and describe cortical lesions in marmosets with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE)...

This study was aimed at restoring decreased T-cell functions and reduced susceptibility to proteolipid apoprotein (PLP) induced-experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in old mice with thymic hormones. Thymosin fraction 5 (TF-5) and serum thymic factor (FTS) had no significant in vitro and in vivo effect on proliferative responses to PLP and concanavalin A (Con A), and on EAE induction in...

Using a combination of local gene delivery and tolerizing DNA vaccination, we demonstrate that codelivery of the interleukin-4 (IL-4) gene and a DNA vaccine encoding the self-peptide proteolipid protein 139-151 (PLP139-151) provides protective immunity against experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). We provide evidence for a mechanism whereby IL-4 expressed from the naked DNA is secret...