RESUMO
The histological response after intracerebral (IC) injection of superantigen (SAg) was investigated in unprimed Lewis rats. The staphylococcal enterotoxins (SE) A (SEA), and E, but not B or saline, induced a variable perivascular inflammation in the injected hemisphere (6.7 +/- 6.1 cuffs per tissue section with SEA; mean +/- SD). Adoptive transfer of mitogen activated splenocytes (AS) augmented the response to SEA significantly (18.5 +/- 11.4; P<0.05). With or without AS transient bilateral perivascular cuffs were observed around the ventricles and in the corpus callosum up to 3 days after IC injection. The findings demonstrate that local expression of SAg in the brain can cause encephalitis, depending on the number of activated T cells in the circulation.
