Apoptosis in neurones exposed to cerebrospinal fluid from patients with multiple sclerosis or acute polyradiculoneuropathy

Primary cultures of murine cerebellar granule neurones were exposed to cere brospinal fluid from patients with subtypes of multiple sclerosis or acute polyradiculoneuropathy (Guillain-Barre syndrome) for 2 days. Cells were the n stained with Hoechst 33342 or terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-media ted dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) to detect apoptotic bodies. The results were compared with control cultures exposed to cerebrospinal fluid from pa tients with no known neurological disease or deficit. There was no signific ant difference in the level of apoptosis induced between these controls and cultures not exposed to cerebrospinal fluid at all. Cultures exposed to ce rebrospinal fluid samples from patients with relapsing-remitting multiple s clerosis did not have higher levels of apoptosis than cells exposed to cont rols, regardless of whether the sample was taken during relapse or remissio n. However, a significant increase in apoptosis was observed in cultures ex posed to cerebrospinal fluid from patients with primary progressive multipl e sclerosis, and apoptosis correlated with disease severity. This supports the existence of biochemical differences between subgroups of multiple scle rosis. A significant increase in apoptosis was also induced by cerebrospina l fluid samples from patients with acute polyradiculoneuropathy, suggesting the presence of neurotoxic factor(s) here also. The relevance to disease p athology is unclear. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.