title: Cells secreting antibodies to myelin basic protein in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Lyme neuroborreliosis.
abstract: An autoimmune response to myelin basic protein (MBP) has been proposed to participate in the development of the chronic neurologic manifestations that may accompany Borrelia burgdorferi-induced Lyme disease. Using an immunospot assay, we counted cells secreting antibodies to MBP. Anti-MBP IgG antibody-secreting cells were detected in CSF from eight of 13 consecutive patients with Lyme neuroborreliosis irrespective of stage of disease. The numbers were between 1/370 and 1/5,000 CSF cells (mean, 1/1,250 in the 13 patients). The highest numbers were encountered in two patients with severe signs of CNS involvement. The numbers decreased in parallel with clinical improvement after treatment. Anti-MBP IgG antibody-secreting cells were also observed in the CSF from patients with a variety of other inflammatory diseases of the nervous system, and their role in the development of tissue damage remains unsettled. Anti-MBP IgG antibody-secreting cells were not detected in the patients' blood, reflecting accumulation of this autoantibody response to CSF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baig
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Höjeberg
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Link
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000921:Antibody-Producing Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein / Q000276:immunology*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein