Antibody responses to Acinetobacter spp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in multiple sclerosis: prospects for diagnosis using the myelin-acinetobacter-neurofilament antibody index

• Published in: Clinical and diagnostic laboratory immunology 2001-11, Vol.8 (6), p.1181-1188
• Main Authors: Hughes, L E, Bonell, S, Natt, R S, Wilson, C, Tiwana, H, Ebringer, A, Cunningham, P, Chamoun, V, Thompson, E J, Croker, J, Vowles, J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acinetobacter; Acinetobacter - immunology; Acinetobacter Infections - diagnosis; Acinetobacter Infections - immunology; Adult; Antibodies and Mediators of Immunity; Antibodies, Bacterial - blood; Blotting, Western; Brain Chemistry - immunology; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - immunology; Female; Humans; Immunoglobulin A - blood; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Immunoglobulin M - blood; Indicator Dilution Techniques; Male; Middle Aged; Multiple Sclerosis - immunology; Multiple Sclerosis - microbiology; Myelin Basic Protein - immunology; Neurofilament Proteins - immunology; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - immunology; Pseudomonas Infections - diagnosis; Pseudomonas Infections - immunology
• ISSN: 1071-412X; 1098-6588
• DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.8.6.1181-1188.2001

Antibody responses to Acinetobacter (five strains), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, myelin basic protein (MBP), and neurofilaments were measured in sera from 26 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, 20 patients with cerebrovascular accidents (CVA), 10 patients with viral encephalitis, and 25 healthy blood donors. In MS patients, elevated levels of antibodies against all strains of Acinetobacter tested were present, as well as antibodies against P. aeruginosa, MBP, and neurofilaments, but not antibodies to E. coli, compared to the CVA group and controls. The myelin-Acinetobacter-neurofilament antibody index appears to distinguish MS patients from patients with CVAs or healthy controls. The relevance of such antibodies to the neuropathology of MS requires further evaluation.