Detection of anti-aquaporin-4 autoantibodies in the sera of Chinese neuromyelitis optica patients

Miao Li; Weiheng Su; Jie Wang; Francesco Pisani; Antonio Frigeri; Tonghui Ma

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.08.005

Detection of anti-aquaporin-4 autoantibodies in the sera of Chinese neuromyelitis optica patients

Neural Regen Res. 2013 Mar 15;8(8):708-13. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.08.005.

Authors

Miao Li¹, Weiheng Su², Jie Wang³, Francesco Pisani⁴, Antonio Frigeri⁴, Tonghui Ma⁵

Affiliations

¹ Membrane Channel Research Laboratory, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, Jilin Province, China ; Department of Neurosurgery, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun 130033, Jilin Province, China.
² National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, College of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, Jilin Province, China.
³ Department of Neurosurgery, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun 130033, Jilin Province, China.
⁴ Department of General and Environmental Physiology and Centre of Excellence in Comparative Genomics (CEGBA), University of Bari, I-70126 Bari, Italy.
⁵ Membrane Channel Research Laboratory, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, Jilin Province, China.

PMID: 25206717
PMCID: PMC4146080
DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.08.005

Abstract

In this study, we recruited 10 neuromyelitis optica patients, two multiple sclerosis patients and two myelitis patients. Chinese hamster lung fibroblast (V79) cells transfected with a human aquaporin-4-mCherry fusion protein gene were used to detect anti-aquaporin-4 antibody in neuromyelitis optica patient sera by immunofluorescence. Anti-aquaporin-4 autoantibody was stably detected by immunofluorescence in neuromyelitis optica patient sera exclusively. The sensitivity of the assay for neuromyelitis optica was 90% and the specificity for neuromyelitis optica was 100%. The anti-aquaporin-4 antibody titers in sera were tested with serial dilutions until the signal disappeared. A positive correlation was detected between Expanded Disability Status Scale scores and serum anti-aquaporin-4 antibody titers. The anti-aquaporin-4 antibody assay is highly sensitive and specific in the sera of Chinese neuromyelitis optica patients. Detection of aquaporin-4 autoantibody is important for the diagnosis and treatment of neuromyelitis optica.

Keywords: Expanded Disability Status Scale; aquaporin-4; autoantibody; autoimmune disease; grants-supported paper; immunofluorescence; multiple sclerosis; neural regeneration; neurodegenerative diseases; neuromyelitis optica; neuroregeneration; photographs-containing paper.