Experimental Allergic Neuritis in the Lewis Rat

Purified myelin from the peripheral nervous system of guinea pig, frog (Rana catesbeiana), rat, rabbit, beef, and human in Freund's adjuvant were injected into the Lewis rat. Groups of rats receiving injections of myelin from different species were examined for signs of dysfunction and lesions in the PNS and CNS. Injection of frog PNS myelin into the Lewis rat did not produce any clinical signs or lesions typical of experimental allergic neuritis (EAN) or experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE). Injection of myelin from the PNS of rat, rabbit, beef, and human elicited clinical signs and lesions characteristic of EAN, while guinea pig myelin injection caused superimposed conditions of EAE and EAN. The myelin proteins from the various species were separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the gels were scanned and the individual proteins measured. There did not appear to be a correlation between the amount of P2 protein contained in the different myelin species and the severity of the EAN symptoms and lesions produced. Although the Lewis rat is far more susceptible to EAE caused by guinea pig CNS myelin than by any other species, EAN can be easily induced in this animal by injection of PNS myelin from a number of species.