Differential Binding of Autoantibodies to MOG Isoforms in Inflammatory Demyelinating Diseases.
Schanda K., Peschl P., Lerch M., Seebacher B., Mindorf S., Ritter N., Probst M., Hegen H., Di Pauli F., Wendel E-M., Lechner C., Baumann M., Mariotto S., Ferrari S., Saiz A., Farrell M., Leite MIS., Irani SR., Palace J., Lutterotti A., Kümpfel T., Vukusic S., Marignier R., Waters P., Rostasy K., Berger T., Probst C., Höftberger R., Reindl M.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to major isoforms of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG-alpha 1-3 and beta 1-3) in patients with inflammatory demyelinating diseases. METHODS: Retrospective case-control study using 378 serum samples from patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), patients with non-MS demyelinating disease, and healthy controls with MOG alpha-1-IgG positive (n = 202) or negative serostatus (n = 176). Samples were analyzed for their reactivity to human, mouse, and rat MOG isoforms with and without mutations in the extracellular MOG Ig domain (MOG-ecIgD), soluble MOG-ecIgD, and myelin from multiple species using live cell-based, tissue immunofluorescence assays and ELISA. RESULTS: The strongest IgG reactivities were directed against the longest MOG isoforms alpha-1 (the currently used standard test for MOG-IgG) and beta-1, whereas the other isoforms were less frequently recognized. Using principal component analysis, we identified 3 different binding patterns associated with non-MS disease: (1) isolated reactivity to MOG-alpha-1/beta-1 (n = 73), (2) binding to MOG-alpha-1/beta-1 and at least one other alpha, but no beta isoform (n = 64), and (3) reactivity to all 6 MOG isoforms (n = 65). The remaining samples were negative (n = 176) for MOG-IgG. These MOG isoform binding patterns were associated with a non-MS demyelinating disease, but there were no differences in clinical phenotypes or disease course. The 3 MOG isoform patterns had distinct immunologic characteristics such as differential binding to soluble MOG-ecIgD, sensitivity to MOG mutations, and binding to human MOG in ELISA. CONCLUSIONS: The novel finding of differential MOG isoform binding patterns could inform future studies on the refinement of MOG-IgG assays and the pathophysiologic role of MOG-IgG.