Patients with primary brain tumours have elevated serum titres of antibodies to the myelin glycolipid sulphatide

Primary and metastatic brain tumours may result in an altered exposure of n ormal cellular components to the immune system inducing an immune response measurable in autoantibodies. One potential immunogenic molecule is sulphat ide, the major acidic glycolipid in myelin, Thirty-eight sera from 31 patie nts with primary and metastatic brain tumours have, therefore, been analyze d for the presence of antisulphatide antibodies by an ELISA performed on th in layer chromatography plates, Twenty-eight of the thirty-eight sera (74%) showed a positive antibody titre to sulphatide. The antibody titres were s ignificantly higher (p < 0.01) in sera from patients with primary brain tum ours than in sera from those with metastases. The study lends support to th e possibility that antisulphatide antibodies could contribute to tissue dam age and this might facilitate the invasive growth in primary brain tumours by demyelination, However, the pathogenic significance of these autoantibod ies remains to be further elucidated. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Base l.