Failure to detect cytotoxic T cell activity against recombinant Yo protein using autologous dendritic cells as the target in a patient with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration and anti-Yo antibody.

Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes are believed to be autoimmune neuronal degenerations that develop in some patients with systemic cancer. Although a high titer of anti-Yo antibody has been found in the sera and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD), the role of anti-Yo antibody in Purkinje cell loss has not been shown. Previously we found that all of nine Japanese patients with PCD who harbored anti-Yo antibody had HLA A24. In this present study we have examined cytotoxic T cell (CTL) activity against recombinant Yo protein in peripheral blood of a patient with PCD and anti-Yo antibody using autologous dendritic cells as the target. We did not detect CTL activity against Yo protein, though, this study does not exclude the possibility of the involvement of CTL in the development of PCD.