title: Circulating auto-antibodies in Ménière's disease.
abstract: In the last years, it has been claimed that patients suffering from Menière's disease exhibit Circulating Immune Complexes, as well as free antibodies specifically directed against type II collagen, a component of the mammal inner ear. Furthermore, by means of repeated injections of type II collagen to the guinea-pig. Menière's disease has been reproduced. Taken together, all these features strongly suggest that Menière's disease fulfills most of the postulates that Witebsky established for the classification of auto-immune diseases. However, in spite of being a very well known marker of auto-immune conditions, non organ nor species specific Circulating Auto-Antibodies (CAA) have not been reported, to our knowledge, in Meniere's disease. Based upon this fact, Anti-Nuclear, Anti-Mitochondrial, Anti-Smooth Muscle, Anti-LKM and Anti-Parietal Gastric Cells Auto-Antibodies have been investigated in 49 patients diagnosed as having Meniere's disease according to the criteria of the AAOO. All of them were asymptomatic at the time of the study. Seventy eight serum samples from Normal Healthy Subjects (NHS) constituted the control group. CAA were tested by indirect immunofluorescence on rat organs according to the method described by Coons. Additionally, the seric levels of C3, and C4 as well as the haemolytic capacity (CH-50) of the serum samples were tested. Furthermore, Circulating Immune Complexes (CIC) as well as the Complement-Mediated Mechanisms involved in the clearance of CIC (Complement-Mediated Solubilization and Inhibition of the Immune Precipitation) were investigated in parallel.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Otorhinolaryngology Unit, La Fe Hospital, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Perez Garrigues
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carmona
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morera
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Cuenca
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex / Q000032:analysis; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D003176:Complement C3 / Q000032:analysis; D003181:Complement C4 / Q000032:analysis; D015941:Complement Hemolytic Activity Assay; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008575:Meniere Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D001323:Autoantibodies; D003176:Complement C3; D003181:Complement C4