ANTIBODIES TO CHONDROITIN-SULFATE-C - A NEW DETECTION ASSAY AND CORRELATIONS WITH NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES

Antibodies to chondroitin sulfate C (ChS C) have been previously assoc iated with sensory axonal neuropathy. Investigation of these antibodie s has, however, been limited by the lack of a sensitive and reliable t est for their detection. We developed a new enzyme-linked immunoassorb ent assay (ELISA), when biotinylated ChS C was made to adhere to avidi n-coated microwells. The new ELISA showed a much greater sensitivity t han other currently available ELISAs for detection of anti-ChS C antib odies. A total of 480 sera (466 patients and 14 normal volunteers) wer e tested at increasing dilutions for anti-ChS C antibody activity. Nor mal subjects had IgM anti-ChS C antibody titers of up to 3,200 and mil dly elevated titers of 6,400 were seen in a variety of diseases. Eleve n patients had titers of 12,800 or higher. These included seven patien ts with sensory axonal neuropathy, three with amyotrophic lateral scle rosis and one with corticobasal ganglionic degeneration. These studies indicate that anti-ChS antibodies do occur in patients with axonal se nsory neuropathy, but are not limited to that disease. (C) 1998 Elsevi er Science B.V.