Serum autoantibodies to neurofilament proteins in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
1998; Elsevier BV; Volume: 154; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/s0022-510x(97)00219-0
ISSN1878-5883
AutoresPhilippe Couratier, Feng-Hua Yi, Jean-Louis Preud'homme, Pierre Clavelou, Aisha White, Philippe Sindou, Jean-Michel Vallat, Marie‐Odile Jauberteau,
Tópico(s)Peripheral Neuropathies and Disorders
ResumoAnti-neurofilament (NF) autoantibodies were searched for by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) in the serum from 85 sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, 98 healthy controls and 79 patients with unrelated immunological diseases (Guillain–Barré syndrome, myasthenia gravis and multiple sclerosis). ELISA cutoff value was determined as mean control levels +2 SD and it corresponded to a specificity of 94%. Such high level antibodies were detected in 24.7% of ALS patients contrasting with 12.6% of neurological controls (P<0.05) and only 6.1% of healthy subjects (P<5.10−4). In ALS, anti-NF antibodies were significantly associated with a slow evolution, as measured by the mean time spent in the initial functional states. They did not relate with age, sex and clinical form. The predominant isotype of the anti-NF antibodies was IgMλ by ELISA. In contrast to negative sera, indirect immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that most sera positive for anti-NF antibodies reacted with axons with predominant isotypes restricted to IgMλ. By using Western blotting, small amounts of serum monoclonal IgM were found with a high frequency in anti-NF antibody-positive patients. These results suggest the possible involvement of anti-NF antibodies in an autoimmune process in a subgroup of ALS patients.
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