The occurrence and role of
autoantibodies to
gangliosides and other
lipid-containing components of the central nervous system in
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) are unsettled. Using sensitive ELISAs, we measured
IgG and
IgM antibody titers and absorbances to the three major
gangliosides GD1a, GD1b and GM1, and to
sulfatides,
cardiolipin and
myelin proteins in paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with untreated MS,
optic neuritis (ON), acute aseptic meningo-
encephalitis (AM) and other neurological diseases (OND). Twenty-three per cent of 30 MS (P<0.04) and 18% of 32 ON patients (P<0.05) presented elevated
IgG antibody titers to GD1a in serum compared to 9% of patients with OND. Six (40%) of the patients with malignant MS had elevated serum
IgG antibody titers to GD1a compared to one (6%) of the patients with benign MS (P<0.04). In CSF, elevated
IgG antibody titers to GD1a were measured in 13% of MS and 20% of ON patients compared to 4% of patients with OND (P<0. 03 and P<0.02, respectively). The augmented
IgG response to GD1a in serum also separated MS from
Guillain-Barré syndrome. Compared to OND increased
IgM absorbances to
sulfatides and
cardiolipin were observed in CSF of patients with MS, but also in AM. Elevated
IgG antibody titers to
myelin proteins were found more often in MS patients' serum and MS, ON and AM patients' CSF compared to OND. The data implicate that among the multitude of enhanced B-cell responses occurring in MS and ON, that directed to GD1a is common and more discriminative, and should be evaluated in future MS treatment studies.