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The Journal of Neuroscience, October 1, 2000, 20(19):7307-7316
GluR3 Autoantibodies Destroy Neural Cells in a
Complement-Dependent Manner Modulated by Complement Regulatory
Proteins
Karl D.
Whitney1, 2 and
James O.
McNamara1, 2, 3, 4
1 Epilepsy Research Laboratory and Departments of
2 Pharmacology and Molecular Cancer Biology and
3 Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham,
North Carolina 27710, and 4 Durham Veterans Affairs Medical
Center, Durham, North Carolina 27705
GluR3 autoantibodies have been implicated in the development of
Rasmussen's encephalitis, a rare neurodegenerative disease of humans
characterized by epilepsy and degeneration of a single cerebral
hemisphere. GluR3 autoantibodies are found in some Rasmussen's encephalitis patients, and GluR3 antibodies raised in rabbits destroy
cultured cortical cells in a complement-dependent manner. In this
study, the cellular targets of anti-GluR3 antisera-mediated cytotoxicity were examined in mixed primary neuronal-glial cultures of
rat cortex. Unexpectedly, astrocytes were the principal target of the
cytotoxic effects as assessed by immunohistochemistry and lactate
dehydrogenase activity; neurons were destroyed to a lesser extent.
Astrocyte vulnerability was rescued by transfection with complement
regulatory proteins, and neuronal resistance was defeated by impairing
complement regulatory protein function. Astrocyte death may occur in
Rasmussen's encephalitis, and destruction of this cell type may play a
critical role in the progression of this disorder. The present findings
suggest complement regulatory protein expression may in part determine
the nature and severity of Rasmussen's encephalitis and other
complement-dependent nervous system diseases and thus underscore the
need for a systematic investigation of the expression of all known
complement regulatory proteins in healthy and diseased nervous system tissues.
Key words:
GluR3 autoantibody; Rasmussen's encephalitis; complement; complement regulatory protein; autoimmunity; epilepsy; glutamate receptor
Copyright © 2000 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/00/20197307-10$05.00/0
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