Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in inbred and outbred mice.

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) was produced in 3 of 14 inbred and 3 of 4 outbred mouse strains. A single immunization with mouse spinal cord, mycobacterial adjuvant and pertussis vaccine produced clinical signs of EAE in most members of susceptible strains after 12 to 18 days. One apparently resistant strain was converted to susceptible by inoculations directly into lymph nodes. In one susceptible strain, inoculation into lymph nodes made it possible to produce EAE without pertussis vaccine. Thus, tests of footpad and lymph node inoculations, with and without pertussis vaccine, have exposed hierarchal levels of susceptibility among mouse strains, each of which may be under separate genetic control.