Intrathecal anti-myelin basic protein antibody production in Chinese patients with multiple sclerosis

Cerebrospinal fluids and paired serums from 23 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were studied for intrathecal synthesis of oligoclonal band and antimyelin basic protein (MBP) antibody. Three parameters for anti-MBP antibody were designed to represent three different pathophysiological meanings, including value, index and ratio of anti-MBP antibody. Oligoclonal band was detected by agarose gel electrophoresis in 23 MS patients, and anti-MBP was assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 11 MS patients to investigate these anti-MBP parameters in MS group and non-inflammatory control group. The anti-MBP assay revealed that intrathecal anti-MBP antibody production was increased during active stage of MS. However, anti-MBP antibody production correlated poorly with the IgG index, nor was it conspicuously higher than IgG production. This might imply that, except for MBP, still other protein components are involved in this immune process.