title: Oligoclonal Borrelia burgdorferi-specific IgG antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid in Lyme neuroborreliosis.
abstract: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum from 45 patients with lymphocytic meningoradiculitis were examined by isoelectric focusing combined with immunoblotting to detect Borrelia burgdorferi-specific oligoclonal immunoglobulin G (IgG) bands. In pretreatment samples, 35 patients (78%) showed B. burgdorferi-specific oligoclonal IgG in CSF indicative of intrathecal antibody production. At 2, 3-6, and 6 weeks after onset, respectively, such bands were present in 5 (42%) of 12, 21 (88%) of 24, and in all of 9 patients (100%). Up to 1 year after therapy, specific oligoclonal bands in CSF tended to remain unchanged despite clinical recovery. B. burgdorferi-specific oligoclonal bands in serum were found in 7 patients. These bands had identical migration patterns as in CSF, but were fewer in number and in some patients showed a temporal evolution different from their CSF counterpart. Not all oligoclonal IgG in CSF reacted with B. burgdorferi. The 41-kDa flagellar antigen was shown to be a major antigen in the intrathecal immune response. The demonstration of B. burgdorferi-specific oligoclonal IgG in CSF is a sensitive and reliable indicator of Lyme neuroborreliosis.
authors.affiliation: Borrelia Laboratory, Department of Treponematoses, Statens Seruminstitut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Link
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D004679:Encephalomyelitis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D007525:Isoelectric Focusing; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008581:Meningitis / Q000276:immunology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000276:immunology; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G