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Updated: May 26, 2026
Cell-based Assay to Study Antibody-mediated Tau Clearance by Microglia
Published on: November 9, 2018
Increased intrathecal high-avidity anti-tau antibodies in patients with multiple sclerosis
Lenka Fialová1, Ales Bartos, Jana Svarcová
1Institute of Medical Biochemistry, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
Background:
Antibodies against tau protein indicate an interaction between the immune system and the neurocytoskeleton and therefore may reflect axonal injury in multiple sclerosis (MS).
Methodology/Principal Findings:
The levels and avidities of anti-tau IgG antibodies were measured using ELISA in paired cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum samples obtained from 49 MS patients and 47 controls. Anti-tau antibodies were significantly elevated intrathecally (p<0.0001) in the MS group. The CSF anti-tau antibody levels were lower in MS patients receiving therapy than those without treatment (p<0.05). The avidities of anti-tau antibodies were higher in the CSF than in the serum (MS group p<0.0001; controls p<0.005). Anti-tau avidities in the CSF were elevated in MS patients in comparison with controls (p<0.05), but not in serum.
Conclusions:
MS patients have higher levels of intrathecal anti-tau antibodies. Anti-tau antibodies have different avidities in different compartments with the highest values in the CSF of MS patients.
