A proportion of patients with peripheral neuropathies has circulating autoantibodies directed against neural antigens. In some cases, autoantibodies may play a pathogenic role. We studied a patient with a progressive sensory-motor axonal neuropathy of unknown etiology, looking for circulating autoantibodies against neural antigens and we showed that the patient’s serum contained anti-amphiphysin I (AMP I) and amphiphysin II (AMP II) autoantibodies. A sural nerve biopsy revealed an axonal neuropathy. Indirect immunofluorescence experiments with the patient’s serum showed a staining of rat axons due to α-AMP I autoantibodies and a specific labelling of cytoplasm and Schmidt-Lanterman incisures of Schwann cells due to α-AMP II autoantibodies. In conclusion we identified a patient affected by a sensory-motor neuropathy with autoantibodies against both AMP I and AMP II.

Keywords:
Neuropathy, peripheral sensory-motor, Autoantibodies, Schmidt-Lanterman incisures, Amphiphysin I, Amphiphysin II
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© 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel
2002
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