IMMUNOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF A NEURONAL ANTIBODY (ANTI-TR) ASSOCIATED WITH PARANEOPLASTIC CEREBELLAR DEGENERATION AND HODGKINS-DISEASE

We studied an autoantibody (called anti-Tr), found in the serum and CS F of five patients with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) a nd Hodgkin's disease (HD). Anti-Tr antibodies labelled the cytoplasm o f Purkinje cells of human and rat cerebellum. The molecular layer of r at cerebellum showed a characteristic dotted pattern suggestive of imm unoreactivity of dendritic spines of Purkinje cells. Patients with cer ebellar disorders without HD (159) or KD without PCD (30) did not harb or anti-Tr antibodies. Immunoblots of human Purkinje cells or rat and mouse cerebellum were negative. Anti-Tr antibodies, as defined in this study, appear specific for HD-associated PCD. The immunohistochemical pattern described in the rat cerebellum coupled with the absence of r eactivity in the immunoblot may be used to identify anti-Tr antibodies .