Fractionation of encephalitogenic polypeptides from bovine spinal cord by gel filtration in phenol--acetic acid--water.

Basic peptides capable of causing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis have been isolated from bovine spinal cord. From gel filtration experiments on Sephadex with phenol—acetic acid—water they appeared to have a molecular weight of about 3000. It is not known yet exactly how many of these basic polypeptides are encephalitogenic. Their predominant basic amino acid was lysine and there was a high content of glycine and serine. Reasons are given for the assumption that they are naturally occurring substances of central nervous tissue and that they are not artificial degradation products of extracted cord proteins. A possible physiological role for these compounds in myelin is discussed.