Antibodies to myelin lipids in multiple sclerosis

Development of immunopathological reactions in the centralnervous system (CNS) is one of the key events in the pathogenesisof multiple sclerosis (MS). Humoral immune responses withformation of antibodies to the components of the myelin sheathplay an important role. However, the targets for antibodies, theircontribution to the development of pathologic process, and stagesof the disease, where they play the most important role, arestill not quite clear. In this study, we investigated the frequency ofdetection of antibodies to myelin glycolipids in MS and their relationshipwith clinical features of the disease. The results of thestudy showed that patients with MS demonstrate a trend towardsmore frequent detection of antibodies to glycolipids and sulfatidein blood serum, which is especially pronounced in patientswith secondary progressive course. Antibodies to GM1 gangliosidewere significantly more frequently detected in patients withsecondary progressive MS as compared to patients with remittingcourse and healthy volunteers. These results are indicative of thefact that antibodies to lipids may participate in the developmentof demyelinating and neurodegenerative processes in MS and bethe markers of disease progression. Further development of theconcept of the mechanisms of humoral response to myelin lipidsin MS and identification of the most significant antibody targetswill facilitate the development of new approaches to predictionof disease course and discovery of new targets for immunomodulatingtherapy.

Abstract licence: CC BY

A person counts once a day per paper. We keep no cookie and no address: a reader is a hash that changes every day. Any month under five reads shows no number.