Effects of peptide fraction and counter ion on the development of clinical signs in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

The most commonly used immunogen to induce experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is MOG(35-55), a 21-residue peptide derived from myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein. Subtle variations in MOG immunization protocols can influence the type of disease, the average day of onset, disease severity, and overall incidence. We hypothesized that variance in peptide fraction and counter ion may contribute to those differences. Surprisingly, immunization with a MOG preparation of high (72%) peptide fraction resulted in lower average EAE clinical scores and later disease onset than immunization with a preparation having only 45% peptide fraction. Replacement of trifluoroacetate (TFA), the counter ion used for MOG peptide purification, with acetate delayed disease onset. These results show that knowledge of peptide fraction and the counter ion present are as critical as peptide purity, particularly when using peptides from different sources. The image shows TFA molecules (not to scale) hypothetically binding to the positively charged residues of MOG.