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Updated: May 15, 2026

Antibody Transfection into Neurons as a Tool to Study Disease Pathogenesis
Published on: September 26, 2012
GABAB receptor antibodies in paraneoplastic cerebellar ataxia
Sven Jarius1, Florian Steinmeyer, Astrid Knobel
1Division of Molecular Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology, University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
Abstract:
Autoantibodies to the gamma-aminobutyric acid-B (GABAB) receptor were recently described in patients with limbic encephalitis presenting with early or prominent seizures. We report on a 64-year-old man with malignant melanoma who during adjuvant therapy with interferon (IFN)-alpha developed cerebellar ataxia. Indirect immunofluorescence on brain tissue sections revealed high-titer (1:20,000) IgG1 serum autoantibodies to the cerebellar molecular and granular layer, which were confirmed to be directed against GABAB receptor in a cell-based assay. This case highlights cerebellar ataxia in the absence of seizures as a clinical manifestation of GABAB receptor autoimmunity and extends the spectrum of tumors underlying this condition to malignant melanoma. IFN-alpha therapy may have contributed to the development of autoimmunity in this patient.
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