Antibodies to aquaporin-1 are not present in neuromyelitis optica

Journal article

Although more than 70% of all patients with neuromyelitis optica (NMO) are seropositive for aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibodies, a substantial proportion of patients fulfilling the clinical criteria for NMO or limited forms of the disease (NMO spectrum disorders [NMOSD]) are negative for these antibodies.1 This raises the possibility of other autoantibodies in these patients. One putative target, the ubiquitously expressed water channel aquaporin-1 (AQP1), which is partially lost or internalized in certain NMO lesions,2 was described in a subset of patients with NMOSD.3,–,5 However, AQP1 antibodies were also found in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), thus raising concerns about the specificity of these findings. Therefore, we developed a recombinant live cell immunofluorescence assay (CBA) for AQP1 antibodies based on our AQP4 antibody assay.6 We analyzed 176 serum samples from Austrian patients with NMOSD (n = 67), Austrian patients with MS (n = 31), and controls (n = 78) for the presence of IgG AQP1 antibodies and AQP4 antibodies. Furthermore, both assays were validated in a blinded cohort of 58 patients with NMOSD (n = 36) or MS (n = 22) from Lyon (France) and Oxford (United Kingdom). Clinical and demographic data of patients and controls are shown in the table.

Authors: Waters, P; Leite, M; Palace, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Academy of Neurology
• Journal: Neurology: Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation
• Volume: 2
• Issue: 6
• Pages: e160-e160
• Publication date: 2015-10-01
• DOI: 10.1212/NXI.0000000000000160
• EISSN: 2332-7812