Lack of serum oligoclonal antibody responses to Chlamydophila pneumoniae in multiple sclerosis

M D Chapman; J C Hartley; S J Furrows; G L Ridgeway; E J Thompson; A J Church; P M Candler; G Giovannoni

doi:10.1159/000084933

Lack of serum oligoclonal antibody responses to Chlamydophila pneumoniae in multiple sclerosis

Eur Neurol. 2005;53(2):81-3. doi: 10.1159/000084933. Epub 2005 Apr 5.

Authors

M D Chapman¹, J C Hartley, S J Furrows, G L Ridgeway, E J Thompson, A J Church, P M Candler, G Giovannoni

Affiliation

¹ Department of Neuroimmunology, Institute of Neurology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK. m.chapman@ion.ucl.ac.uk

PMID: 15812167
DOI: 10.1159/000084933

Abstract

Chlamydophila pneumoniae has been proposed as an aetiological agent in MS via a mechanism involving molecular mimicry. We undertook to investigate whether the presence of CSF oligoclonal IgG OCB or oligoclonal bands correlated with serum IgG raised against C. pneumoniae. Paired serum and CSF of 19 MS patients and 27 control patients with other neurological diseases were studied by IEF and Western blotting. Only 1 of 19 MS patients had serum antibodies against C. pneumoniae compared with 2 of the 26 control patients. This was not significant, leading us to conclude that this study does not support the theory of an association between C. pneumoniae and MS.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Blotting, Western
Chlamydophila Infections / immunology*
Chlamydophila pneumoniae / immunology
Humans
Isoelectric Focusing
Multiple Sclerosis / immunology
Multiple Sclerosis / microbiology*
Oligoclonal Bands / analysis*

Substances

Oligoclonal Bands