Activated terminal complement in cerebrospinal fluid in Guillain-Barré syndrome and multiple sclerosis.
A quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the concentration of fluid-phase complement C5b-9 complexes (SC5b-9) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 14 patients with acute monophasic Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), 21 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and 11 patients with noninflammatory central nervous system (CNS) diseases. SC5b-9 complexes were detected in the CSF of 13 of 14 patients with acute GBS (mean, 3.08 micrograms/ml; range, 0 to 7.1 micrograms/ml) and 16 of 21 patients with MS (mean, 1.83 micrograms/ml; range, 0 to 7.5 micrograms/ml). In the control group of patients with noninflammatory CNS diseases, SC5b-9 was not detected in eight of 11 and was present in low concentrations in the remaining three patients (mean, 0.28 micrograms/ml; range, 0 to 1.7 micrograms/ml). The finding of SC5b-9 complexes in the CSF of patients with GBS and MS suggests that terminal complement components may participate in the tissue-damaging processes in these diseases.
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Related Subject Headings
- Polyradiculoneuropathy
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Immunology
- Humans
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
- Complement System Proteins
- Complement Membrane Attack Complex
- Complement Activation
- 3204 Immunology
- 3101 Biochemistry and cell biology
Citation
Published In
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Polyradiculoneuropathy
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Immunology
- Humans
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
- Complement System Proteins
- Complement Membrane Attack Complex
- Complement Activation
- 3204 Immunology
- 3101 Biochemistry and cell biology