Comparative study of natural autoantibodies in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of normal individuals and patients with multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases.

Using a panel of antigens (actin, myosin, tubulin, albumin, transferrin, peroxidase, thyroglobulin, DNA, prolactin, TNP and myelin basic protein (MBP], we have tested the antibody activity of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from healthy individuals, patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and individuals with other neurological diseases. No differences in the concentrations and specificities of the serum antibodies were observed among the 3 groups. In contrast, we found that MS patients often had elevated CSF antibody levels against many antigens of the panel. The MS patients with local immunoglobulin production in the central nervous system (CNS) had the highest antibody levels. Restricted antibody activity against a given antigen of the panel was not observed. Compared to the two other groups, the MS group had equivalent titres of anti-MBP antibodies in the CSF. These results suggest that, in MS, a general immune dysregulation exists which leads to a local expansion of B lymphocytes producing autoantibodies with reactivities similar to those of serum natural autoantibodies.