Chronic progressive myelopathy associated with HTLV-I: oligoclonal IgG and anti-HTLV-I IgG antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid and serum.

Among 22 patients with human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I)-associated chronic progressive myelopathy, agarose isoelectric focusing (AIF) revealed oligoclonal IgG bands in 21: in 3 in CSF only; in 11 in CSF and to some extent in serum; and in 7, identical patterns in CSF and serum. By immunoblot after AIF of CSF and serum, we observed bands of anti-HTLV-I IgG antibodies in 19 patients: in 5 in CSF only; in 9 in CSF and partly in serum; and in 5, identical in CSF and serum. Oligoclonal anti-HTLV-I IgG antibody bands could only partly be traced to oligoclonal IgG bands. If, prior to AIF, serum and CSF were absorbed with HTLV-I antigen, practically all oligoclonal HTLV-I-specific IgG antibody activity was abolished, while the oligoclonal pattern of total IgG was affected only to a minor extent. Alongside with HTLV-I-specific oligoclonal B cell response, HTLV-I myelopathy is regularly accompanied by production of oligoclonal IgG of unknown antibody specificities.