Latent immunoglobulin G (Gm) allotypes: occurrence in the cerebrospinal fluid in some neuropathological states

Gm allotypes were detected and quantitated by radioimmunoassay (RIA) in paired serum and CSF samples from patients suffering from various neurological diseases. Of 115 patients with neurological disorders (65 MS and 50 others), seven subjects displayed one or two allotypes in their CSF which were absent in serum. The Gm phenotype in the patient's serum allowed us to infer the genotype without the need of familial data. A comparison of the regression curves obtained in RIA from the unexpected allotype in CSF and the counterpart in a normal serum pool argued for an identity of the Gm antigen carried by both inhibitory molecules. The unexpected allotype(s) in CSF can be considered as the product of a latent Gm gene which may be activated by either immune perturbations due to the disease per se or some particular immune regulations in the central nervous system.