Oligoclonal IgG bands with and without measles antibody activity in sera of patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE).

Oligoclonal IgG bands from SSPE sera were isolated by combination of Protein A-Sepharose 4B column and preparative isoelectric focusing gel procedures. Each eluted fraction, when examined in analytic IEF, showed two or three individual bands with isoelectric points close to one another, compared to approximately fifteen IgG bands seen in whole serum. When the bands were tested for measles antibody activity in immunofixation with measles virus followed by peroxidase staining, the bands eluted in pH region 8.5 to 9.3 were found to be measles specific, whereas those in pH 7.0 to 8.4 lacked significant measles activity. When eluted fractions containing groups of bands were absorbed with measles virus, the bands in pH region 8.5 to 9.3 were removed, whereas those in pH 7.0 to 8.4 region remained unchanged; this indicated that a number of oligoclonal IgG bands without measles virus activities are present in SSPE. The bands lacking measles-specific activity may be synthesized against other infectious agents or they may represent nonspecific activation of B cell clones.