title: Increased frequencies of serum antibodies to neurofilament light in patients with primary chronic progressive multiple sclerosis.
abstract: We investigated whether serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) antibodies to the light subunit of the NF protein (NF-L), a main component of the axonal cytoskeleton, may serve as biological markers for axonal pathology and/or disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). IgG to NF-L was measured in sera and CSF of MS patients, patients with inflammatory demyelinating diseases of the PNS, with acute inflammatory neurological diseases (including bacterial and viral meningitis), with neurodegenerative diseases, with acute noninflammatory neurological diseases (including stroke, headache and backache) and healthy controls by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We found that serum anti-NF-L IgG antibodies were significantly elevated in MS patients with primary progressive disease course and we provide evidence for an intrathecal production of these antibodies. Our findings support the use of serum antibodies to NF-L as a marker for axonal destruction.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Department of Neurology, Medical University of Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ehling
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lutterotti
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wanschitz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khalil
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gneiss
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Deisenhammer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reindl
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Berger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood* / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D001369:Axons / Q000473:pathology; D015415:Biomarkers; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D020528:Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Progressive / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D015415:Biomarkers; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C044882:neurofilament protein L