The significance of anti-neuronal antibodies in Alzheimer's disease.

Indirect immunofluorescence and cell-type-specific markers were used to determine whether antibodies directed against specific neural cell types were present in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), other neurological diseases (OND) and normal controls. Sera and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were tested on either frozen sections of rat and human cortex and/or dissociated cell cultures of neonatal rat cerebellum, and human fetal dorsal root ganglia (DRG). All groups of patients and normal subjects were indistinguishable in their pattern of immunoglobulin (Ig) staining. Staining of neurones on frozen sections was predominantly nuclear. In cultures all sera showed weak staining of oligodendrocytes, fibroblasts and Schwann cells. Varying degrees of surface staining of neurones were seen with both sera and CSF within all groups.