Clinical Spectrum, Pathology, and Mechanisms of Anti-LGI4 Antibody-Positive Autoimmune Nodopathy

The aim of this study was to elucidate the clinical spectrum and mechanisms of autoimmune nodopathy (AN) with autoantibodies against leucine-rich repeat leucin-rich glioma inactivated 1 (LGI) family member 4 (LGI4) localized at juxtaparanodes and satellite glia in the dorsal root ganglion.

We developed a live cell-based assay for LGI4-immunoglobulin (Ig) G and surveyed 131 patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. LGI4-IgG, anti-LGI4 antibody-negative CIDP-IgG, or healthy control (HC)-IgG were applied to Schwann cells, and cell proliferation was assayed using 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine labeling. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to assess the expression of Krox20 and Prx, both of which independently control peripheral nerve myelination. LGI4-IgG or HC-IgG was intraneurally injected into mouse sciatic nerves, and the effects were immunohistochemically and morphometrically assessed.

Eight anti-LGI4 antibody-positive (LGI4⁺) patients were identified; dominant tissue-binding IgG subclasses were IgG4 in 4 patients and IgG2 and IgG3 in 2 patients each. Patients had a relatively old onset age (median 72 years, range 41-90 years). Four patients had acute/subacute monophasic courses, and 4 had chronic progressive/relapsing courses. Predominant symptoms/signs were motor weakness (8 cases), muscle atrophy (4), deep and superficial sensory impairment (8 and 7, respectively), Romberg sign (4), and hand/finger tremor (5). CSF showed extremely high protein levels (median 253 mg/dL). Three chronic cases had nerve hypertrophy. IVIg and efgartigimod were partially (7/7 patients) and markedly (1/1 patient) effective, respectively. Notably, 1 chronic patient with predominant tissue-binding LGI4-IgG2 but without LGI4-IgG4 showed a moderate reduction in myelinated fibers with endoneurial edema, numerous onion bulbs, and few inflammatory cell infiltrates in the biopsied sural nerve. Electron microscopy demonstrated onion bulb formations around the axons and subtle detachment of myelin terminal loops from axonal membranes in the paranodes. In Schwann cell culture, proliferation was significantly higher, and Krox20 but not Prx mRNA levels were lower after incubation with LGI4-IgG from chronic (but not acute-onset) cases compared with HC-IgG incubation. With intraneural injection, both LGI4-IgG4 and LGI4-IgG2 deposited mainly at the nodes extending toward the paranodes and caused nodal/paranodal alterations.

LGI4⁺ AN manifests as acute/subacute monophasic and chronic progressive/relapsing diseases, sometimes exhibiting nerve hypertrophy with onion bulbs through nonmyelinating Schwann cell proliferation.