title: Polyclonal B-cell expansion in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with pseudotumor cerebri.
abstract: To investigate the hypothesis that pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) is associated with humoral immunity, we analyzed immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region (Ig-VH) genes of B cells in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 10 patients with PTC. Using RT-PCR and sequencing techniques, intrathecal B-cell Ig-VH genes were amplified in 6 of 10 PTC samples. Sequence analysis of complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR 3) and VH genes revealed a polyclonal intrathecal B-cell expansion in these patients. The nucleotide sequences showed that one-third of analyzed sequences had a high replacement to silent nucleotide substitution ratio, indicating an antigen-driven T-cell-dependent intrathecal B-cell proliferation. Moreover, other one-third had germline VH genes without or with a few nucleotide mutations, suggesting a T-cell-independent natural B-cell-mediated humoral immunity in the CNS of these patients. Our results suggest that both T-cell-dependent and T-cell-independent humoral immunity are present in the CSF of PTC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, USA.
authors.forename: Reng-Rong
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Da
authors.forename: Grace
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: Wen-Zhong
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olek
authors.forename: Sudhir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Yiping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Stanley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Van Den Noort
authors.forename: Yufen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D001483:Base Sequence; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D005803:Genes, Immunoglobulin / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011559:Pseudotumor Cerebri / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology