Department of Neurology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
Department of Molecular Neurology and Therapeutics, Kumamoto University Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan.
J Neuroimmunol. 2020 Dec 15;349:577399. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2020.577399. Epub 2020 Sep 21.
Since autonomic dysfunction is closely associated with autoimmune encephalitis (AE), the objective of this study was to determine the autonomic symptoms and the prevalence of anti-α3 subunit of the ganglionic-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (gAChRα3) antibodies in the patients with AE. We reviewed the clinical features of 19 AE patients, and specifically analyzed sera for anti-gAChRα3 antibodies using the luciferase immunoprecipitation system (LIPS) assay. Cardiovascular autonomic symptoms were found to be common in patients with AE, and hypersalivation was seen only in patients with NMDAR encephalitis. LIPS detected anti-gAChRα3 antibodies in the sera from patients with AE (5/29, 26%). This study is the first to demonstrate that clinical characteristics including autonomic symptoms of AE patients with seropositivity for gAChR autoantibodies. It will be important to verify the role of gAChR antibodies in autonomic dysfunction and brain symptoms to clarify the pathogenesis of AE.
由于自主神经功能障碍与自身免疫性脑炎(AE)密切相关,本研究旨在确定 AE 患者的自主症状和抗α3 亚单位烟碱型乙酰胆碱受体(gAChRα3)抗体的患病率。我们回顾了 19 例 AE 患者的临床特征,并使用荧光素酶免疫沉淀系统(LIPS)检测分析了血清中抗 gAChRα3 抗体。AE 患者常出现心血管自主神经症状,而唾液分泌过多仅见于 NMDA 受体脑炎患者。LIPS 检测到 AE 患者血清中的抗 gAChRα3 抗体(5/29,26%)。本研究首次证明了 AE 患者的临床特征,包括自身免疫性 gAChR 自身抗体阳性患者的自主症状。证实 gAChR 抗体在自主神经功能障碍和脑部症状中的作用对于阐明 AE 的发病机制非常重要。