Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 May 15:318:97-102.
doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2018.02.013. Epub 2018 Feb 28.

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis and myelin basic protein specific epitopes are highly recognized by sera from patients with Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

Marco Bo  1 , Magdalena Niegowska  1 , Giannina Arru  2 , Elia Sechi  2 , Sara Mariotto  3 , Chiara Mancinelli  4 , Alessia Farinazzo  3 , Daniela Alberti  3 , Alberto Gajofatto  3 , Sergio Ferrari  3 , Ruggero Capra  4 , Salvatore Monaco  3 , GianPietro Sechi  2 , Leonardo A Sechi  5
Affiliations

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis and myelin basic protein specific epitopes are highly recognized by sera from patients with Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

Marco Bo et al. J Neuroimmunol. .

Abstract

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the main environmental agent associated to neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Following to studies reporting an increased prevalence of antibodies against peptides derived from Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) homologous to EBV and human epitopes (MBP85-98, IRF5424-434) in multiple sclerosis (MS), we investigated whether seroreactivity to these antigens display a NMOSD-specific pattern. The sera of 34 NMOSD patients showed elevated levels of antibodies against MAP and MBP compared to healthy controls (44% vs. 5%, p < 0.0002 and 50% vs. 2%, p < 0.0001, respectively), while, unlike in MS, responsiveness to EBV was similar.

Keywords: AQP4; Epstein-Barr virus; IRF5; MBP; Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis; Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources