1. Agrin and low-density lipoprotein-related receptor protein 4 antibodies in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients
- Author
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Lin Mei, Jin-Xiu Pan, Michael H. Rivner, Siyang Liu, Brandy Quarles, Brandi Fleenor, and Chengyong Shen
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,animal structures ,Physiology ,Lower motor neuron ,Neuromuscular junction ,03 medical and health sciences ,Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,0302 clinical medicine ,Physiology (medical) ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ,Receptor ,Agrin ,biology ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,medicine.disease ,030104 developmental biology ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Endocrinology ,nervous system ,chemistry ,Immunoassay ,Low-density lipoprotein ,biology.protein ,Neurology (clinical) ,Antibody ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Introduction The prevalence and characteristics of agrin and low-density lipoprotein-related receptor protein 4 (LRP4) antibody-positive amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients were studied. Methods We tested 82 ALS patients and 59 controls for agrin and LRP4 antibodies using enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). Results We found that 13.8% of ALS patients had agrin antibodies, and 9.8% had LRP4 antibodies. Women with ALS are twice as likely as men to have antibodies. Agrin-positive ALS patients are younger than agrin-negative ALS patients. Conclusions Antibodies to agrin and LRP4 are found in ALS patients. It must be determined whether these antibodies are pathogenic. Because antibody-positive patients have upper as well as lower motor neuron findings, the antibodies' effects cannot be explained solely by their actions at the neuromuscular junction. A breakdown in interneuronal signaling may be the cause of ALS. Further research is needed to resolve this question. Muscle Nerve, 2016 Muscle Nerve 55: 430-432, 2017.
- Published
- 2016
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