ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Immune mechanisms seem to contribute to the degenerative process in Alzheimer's disease. Antibodies directed against animal brain tissue were found in sera of Alzheimer's patients. METHODS: Antibodies were measured in sera of 25 Alzheimer's patients and a comparison group of 25 age- and sex-matched controls. Sera were tested for their immunological response to various brain structures of postmortem human brain tissue. RESULTS: In 8 patients with Alzheimer's disease perinuclear antibodies directed against microglia were found in amygdala and frontal cortex. In the control group 1 subject showed antibody binding to microglia. CONCLUSIONS: Perinuclear antibodies to microglia may play a role in tissue destruction of Alzheimer's disease. These data add to the evidence that immune mechanisms play a role in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/immunology , Autoantibodies/blood , Brain/immunology , Microglia/immunology , Nerve Degeneration/immunology , Aged , Alzheimer Disease/blood , Alzheimer Disease/classification , Amygdala/immunology , Case-Control Studies , Female , Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect , Humans , Male , Nerve Degeneration/pathologyABSTRACT
The pathogenesis of schizophrenia is still unknown. In a previous study we found antibrain antibodies in the sera of schizophrenic patients, but not in normal controls. Therefore we have further examined the sera of schizophrenic patients versus normal controls, increasing the number of brain areas, to explore whether certain areas were involved more often than others in the antibody binding process. The sera of 50 patients suffering from an acute episode of schizophrenia (classified by DSM III-criteria) were tested. 70% of the patients showed antibody binding, while only 12% of the age- and sex-matched controls were positive. The binding was mediated by IgG- as well as IgM-antibodies. Amygdala, frontal cortex, cingulate gyrus, and septal area were the prominent targets, while hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, entorhinal cortex, putamen, mamillary bodies and head of the caudate nucleus were involved to a lesser degree. Binding was not present to nucleus olivaris, to the thyroid gland or to HEp-2 cells, which we included to test for unspecific antinuclear factors. Longterm studies of schizophrenic patients and biochemical analyses of the antigen(s) involved are in progress.
Subject(s)
Autoantibodies/blood , Autoimmune Diseases/immunology , Brain/immunology , Schizophrenia/immunology , Schizophrenic Psychology , Acute Disease , Adult , Antibody Specificity/immunology , Autoimmune Diseases/diagnosis , Binding Sites, Antibody/physiology , Brain Mapping , Cell Line , Female , Humans , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Immunoglobulin M/blood , Male , Middle Aged , Schizophrenia/diagnosisABSTRACT
Using an enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay, we looked, whether the formation of idiotype-anti-idiotype complexes was responsible for the absence of antibodies in the sera of MS patients. We tested 18 relapsing-remitting and 26 chronic progressive patients versus 44 age- and sex-matched controls. We did not find elevated titres of immune complexes in the sera of the multiple sclerosis patients.
Subject(s)
Antigen-Antibody Complex/blood , Autoantibodies/blood , Brain/immunology , Multiple Sclerosis/immunology , Adult , Complement C1q/immunology , Complement C3d/immunology , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Female , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Sera of 30 chronic alcoholic patients and 30 age-matched and gender-matched controls were examined for antibodies to brain tissues. We performed an indirect immunofluorescence assay using the patients' and controls' sera as first antibodies, and fluorescein-conjugated anti-human-immunoglobulin Ig-A,Ig-G and Ig-M as second antibodies, on frozen sections of normal human brain. Binding to neuronal cell nuclei of frontal cortex and septal area was found in 40% of patients, but only in 6.7% of controls. The antibodies belonged to the IgM, and additionally sometimes the IgA and IgG subclass. The relevance of these antibodies for the development of brain disease in chronic alcoholic patients is discussed.
Subject(s)
Alcoholism/immunology , Autoantibodies/analysis , Brain/immunology , Adult , Aged , Antibody Specificity/immunology , Cell Nucleus/immunology , Female , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Frontal Lobe/immunology , Humans , Immunoglobulins/analysis , Male , Middle Aged , Neurons/immunology , Septum Pellucidum/immunologyABSTRACT
The sera of 30 patients suffering from schizophrenia (DSM III) and 30 neurological controls were tested for antibrain antibodies in a blind indirect immunofluorescence assay. We found IgG- and IgM-binding in the sera of 22 patients, but only 4 out of the 30 age- and sex-matched controls. The binding was mainly directed to neurons from the frontal cortex and septal areas, areas, which are regarded as important in the development of schizophrenic illness. These preliminary data are presented, to encourage other immunological studies in schizophrenia research.
