Identification and quantitation of T lymphocyte subsets found in the spinal cord of the Lewis rat during acute experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.

Monoclonal antibodies specific for different rat T cell subsets and Ia-positive cells were used in a quantitative morphologic study of the cellular infiltrates in the spinal cords of Lewis rats during acute, actively induced experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE). The predominant cell types in the inflammatory spinal cord lesions are W3/25-positive and Ia-positive cells. The relative percentages represented by each cell type remain quite constant regardless of the degree of clinical illness exhibited by the rat. These data demonstrate a quantitative profile of the infiltrating cells in acute, active EAE, and suggest that the principal inflammatory cells in these lesions are T helper cells and Ia-bearing cells (macrophages, B cells, or activated T helper cells).