title: High-titer selective serum anti-beta-tubulin antibodies in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.
abstract: Although chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is presumed to be an autoimmune disorder, no neural antigen has been recognized as an immune target. We found that serum IgM from a patient with CIDP and an IgM paraprotein reacted with a 53-kd protein by Western blot analysis. Amino acid sequence analysis identified this protein as beta-tubulin. We then studied sera from 70 CIDP patients, 35 Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) patients, and 483 disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and other polyneuropathies) and normal controls for selective high-titer anti-beta-tubulin using ELISA methodology. Forty-two percent (30/70) of patients with CIDP had selective high titer IgM reactivity against beta-tubulin; 23% (16/70) had selective high-titer IgG reactivity against beta-tubulin. Overall, 57% of CIDP patients, 20% of GBS patients, and 2% of control patients had selective, high serum IgM or IgG anti-beta-tubulin reactivity. Selective high-titer serum anti-beta-tubulin antibodies occur in a majority of patients with CIDP but are rare in other chronic neuropathies or CNS disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Connolly
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pestronk
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Trotter
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Cornblath
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Olney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003711:Demyelinating Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D011115:Polyneuropathies / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D014404:Tubulin / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D014404:Tubulin