Bone marrow lacking integrin expression facilitates an enhanced susceptibility to EAE in the xenogeneic bone marrow chimera

Xenotransplantation of rat bone marrow cells (BMC) into immunodeficient (SCID) mice generates chimeric mice susceptible to paralytic autoimmune CNS inflammation. Herein, we identified a disease relevant subset of transplantable BMC lacking expression of CD11b/c and CD49d. Moreover, disease susceptibility was enhanced in the presence of non-myelin specific T-cells. Only the CD11b/c negative population of BM retained the capability to populate the blood, spleen and spinal cord of recipients and matured after transplant to express CD11b/c. These results indicate non-myelin T cells in combination with integrin negative BM represent pre-pathogenic determinants of an enhanced disease susceptibility to myelin reactive T cells.