Antigenic determinants on bovine encephalitogenic protein. Localization of regions that induce transformation of lymph node cells from immunized rabbits

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Abstract
With the aid of a lymph node cell transformation test and several fragments of the bovine encephalitogenic protein, attempts have been made to examine more closely various parts of the protein that stimulate DNA‐synthesis of lymph node cells from immunized rabbits. Evidence was obtained for the presence of at least two strongly stimulating regions within residues 44–170: one resides in peptide 44–89 and the other in peptide 93–170. When parts of these regions and other oligopeptide derivatives of region 44–170 were tested, only a slight or no stimulating effect was observed, and a closer localization of all reactive sites – corresponding to that made in guinea pigs with the macrophage migration inhibition technique – could not be made unequivocally. However, peptides 44–68 and 154–170 were shown to have transformation‐inducing effects.Further evidence for the nonreactivity of the tryptophan region was obtained in accordance with previous findings. For at least one region of the encephalitogenic protein – the tryptophan region – there is thus no correlation between disease‐inducing activity and ability to stimulate lymph node cells from immunized rabbits to transform in vitro.