01711nas a2200313   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002800055653001900083653001000102653002000112653004000132653003500172653001100207653003200218653002100250653001200271653002500283653001800308653001800326100002000344700001800364700001600382245008400398300001100482490000700493520088300500022001401383       1986                            d  c1986 Feb10aAntibodies, Antinuclear10aAutoantibodies10aAxons10aCross Reactions10aElectrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel10aFluorescent Antibody Technique10aHumans10aImmunoglobulin Fc Fragments10aImmunoglobulin G10aleprosy10aMycobacterium leprae10aMyelin Sheath10aSciatic Nerve1 aEustis-Turf E P1 aBenjamins J A1 aLefford M J00aCharacterization of the anti-neural antibodies in the sera of leprosy patients.  a313-300 v103 a<p>Sera from 43 leprosy patients were tested for antibodies that bound to normal human nerve. Thirty-eight percent showed positive staining as demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence. Only 1 out of 30 control sera tested displayed similar staining. Western blots of myelin and neural intermediate filament (IF) proteins were tested with patient sera. Two of the anti-neural antibody (ANeAb)-positive leprosy sera bound to the P0 protein of PNS myelin. All 17 ANeAb-positive leprosy sera displayed 2 or more bands in the molecular weight range of Mr 45 000-55 000, when tested against IF proteins. One explanation for these findings is that leprosy patients produce antibodies to intermediate filament (IF) proteins released subsequent to the bacterial invasion of the peripheral nerves. The importance of these autoantibodies in the pathogenesis of leprosy is discussed.</p>  a0165-5728