Isolation of myelin basic protein and detection of its immunological properties

Multiple sclerosis [MS] is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system of presumed autoimmune etiology. One of the best animal models of demyelinating diseases is experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis [EAE], which can be induced in a variety of animals by injection of a target antigen such as myelin basic protein [MBP]. The immune responses against the target amino acids cause tissue damages such as demyelination in the CNS. In this study, after isolation of myelin basic protein from bovine cord, we examined its purity and molecular weight by SDS-PAGE and in order to investigate its immunological properties, two varieties of guinea pigs were injected with different amounts of the isolated protein. Clinical signs of EAE and also histological changes were detected. Delayed type hypersensitivity, and anti-MBP antibodies to the isolated MBP were also investigated. Another form of EAE which has been called chronic-relapsing EAE [CR-EAE], was induced by injection of cord homogenate. EAE and CR-EAE are the best models for MS investigations