High prevalence of intrathecal IgA synthesis in multiple sclerosis patients
Abstract Introduction: The detection of intrathecal IgA synthesis (IAS) in multiple sclerosis (MS) is cumbersome, for this reason, we developed a highly sensitive assay to assess it in MS. Methods: 151 MS patients and 22 controls with different neurological diseases were recruited. IgA concentration was analyzed by ELISA. Oligoclonal IgA bands to detect IAS were determined by a new ultrasensitive assay based on isoelectrofocusing (IEF). Results: Most individuals showed an IgA concentration within normal range in serum samples (95.95%) but 38.41% of individuals had a low IgA concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), with no significant differences observed between MS and control groups, neither in CSF nor in serum. The new IEF was more sensitive than those previously described (0.01 mg/dl of IgA), and clearly identified patients with and without IAS, that was not related with IgA concentration. MS patients showed higher percentage of IAS (43.00%) than the control group (18.20) (p = 0.035), because the incidence was especially higher in MS patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS, 66.00%). Conclusions: Intrathecal IgA synthesis is observed more frequently in MS patients than in other neurological diseases, and with higher incidence than assumed in the past.