A group of 7 proteins produced from a single gene by alternate splicing found in central and peripheral nervous system myelin. The major basic protein (MBP) has long been of interest because it is the antigen, that, when injected into an animal, elicits a cellular immune response that produces the CNS autoimmune disease called experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (ENCEPHALOMYELITIS, ALLERGIC). In the peripheral nervous system, myelin basic protein 18.5-kDa is often referred to as the P1 protein. (From Siegel et al., Basic Neurochemistry, 5th ed, p130, 133).
