Figure 2

Spontaneous T-cell reactivity to peptides containing or corresponding to RNP1 motifs in unprimed MRL/lpr mice. The proliferative response of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) from 8-, 10-, 12- and 14-week-old mice was measured in the presence of U1-70K, U1-A and hnRNP-A2 peptides (100 μM) encompassing completely or partially the RNP1 motif of each protein (a) or corresponding exactly to the RNP1 motif of each protein (b). The results are expressed as SI corresponding to the ratio cpm in the culture with peptide to cpm in the culture without peptide. A mean SI > 2 was considered to be positive (horizontal line). The average tritiated thymidine incorporation in the absence of peptide and in the presence of Con-A was 50 and 3,000 cpm, respectively. This experiment is one of two individual experiments that showed similar results. Bars show the mean ± SEM.