title: The intrathecal synthesis of virus-specific oligoclonal IgG in multiple sclerosis.
abstract: A highly sensitive antigen-mediated capillary blot technique was developed for the detection of virus-specific oligoclonal IgG in paired CSF and serum samples from patients with various neurological diseases. In multiple sclerosis, intrathecal synthesis of oligoclonal antibodies was present against measles (70%), rubella (60%), varicella zoster (40%) and mumps (30%); in most cases (75%), such synthesis involved two or more viruses. In contrast, antibodies against a non-neurotropic virus (cytomegalovirus) were rarely produced in CSF from MS patients (5%). However, this 'polyspecific' reaction was not restricted to MS samples but was also observed in neurolupus and in the late phase of infectious diseases of the central nervous system. These anti-viral antibodies could be produced without de novo replication of the corresponding viral genome and are likely mere bystanders of an ongoing immune response.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurochemistry, Catholic University of Louvain, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Sindic
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Monteyne
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Laterre
mesh_terms: D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D000939:Epitopes; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000276:immunology*; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000276:immunology*; D009443:Neuritis / Q000276:immunology; D043025:Oligoclonal Bands; D012016:Reference Values; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D014780:Viruses / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D043025:Oligoclonal Bands