The Effects of Imidates on the Encephalitogenicity of Myelin Basic Protein

Because the encephalitogenic tryptophan region within the porcine basic protein contains a lysine essential for disease induction, modification of the residue with imidates should further elucidate its contribution to basic protein encephalitogenicity. The modification of the encephalitogenic basic protein from myelin does not eliminate encephalitogenicity irrespective of the size of the imidate employed. This result suggests that the positive group in the tryptophan region functions only to help maintain a necessary overall conformation of the region.