title: Detection of cerebrospinal fluid antibodies against myelin basic protein in patients with AIDS dementia complex.
abstract: We evaluated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) antibody levels against a lipid-free, denatured form of myelin basic protein (LF-MBP) in 11 patients with AIDS dementia complex (ADC) by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In 9 out of 11 patients, anti-LF-MBP antibody levels were significantly higher than those observed both in 15 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients without neurological disorders and in 9 anti-HIV-negative subjects affected by other neurological diseases. Furthermore, we followed up anti-MBP levels in 5 out of the 11 ADC patients and detected a strict relationship with the encephalopathy progression. At the same time, with the aim to detect early demyelinating events we investigated CSF antibody levels against a lipid-bound, native-like form of MBP (LB-MBP). Results did not show any significant difference between LF-MBP and LB-MBP in terms of antibody reactivity. The detection of anti-MBP antibodies in CSF may provide the opportunity to assess a diagnostic tool for discovering demyelinating lesions in ADC patients.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Malattie Infettive, Università La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Mastroianni
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Liuzzi
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vullo
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jirillo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Delia
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Riccio
mesh_terms: D015526:AIDS Dementia Complex / Q000276:immunology*; D000906:Antibodies / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein