Menière's disease: role of antibodies against basement membrane antigens.

Recently, high levels of anti-collagen II (CII) antibodies have been found in a significant percentage of patients with Menière's disease (MD). An immune response against other collagens (C) present in the basal membranes has also been suggested by the presence of anti-CIV and anti-laminin antibodies in a number of instances of progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) and Raynaud's phenomenon (RP). The aim of the present study was to measure the levels and frequency of anti-CI, -CII, -CIV, -CV, and anti-laminin antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 45 patients affected by MD, 24 patients with PSS, 24 patients with RP, and 25 normal subjects. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) anti-CII antibodies were detected in 15.5% of MD sera, and 6.6% of MD sera were positive on CV, 11.1% were positive on laminin, 4.4% were positive on CI, and 4.4% were positive on CIV. A low incidence of anti-CI, -CII, -CIV, -CV, and antilaminin antibodies was found. Positive sera did not react on immunoblot with peptides obtained by cyanogen bromide (CNBr) digestion of CII. These results contrast with those of Yoo, et al.; differences in the washing procedure used and in the ethnic background of the patients may explain this divergence. Our results would seem to indicate that autoimmune responses do not play a role in the pathogenesis of MD.