Rituximab is increasingly used for prevention of relapses of neuromyelitis optica (NMO), a condition that is highly associated with serum anti-aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibodies. However, B-cell depletion also induces systemic B-cell activating factor (BAFF), which may promote antibody production. We collected serial serum samples from a total of seven patients with NMO prior to, and following, treatment with rituximab
BACKGROUND: Recently, a highly specific serum autoantibody was discovered in patients with neuromyelitis optica, called NMO-IgG, and aquaporin-4, the most abundant water channel in the CNS, was identified as the target antigen.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of mitoxantrone hydrochloride and determine how it exhibits a differential inhibitory effect on subsets of B cells in patients with highly relapsing neuromyelitis optica (NMO).
The antibody suspension bead array technology has been shown to be highly applicable for discovery of potential biomarkers in blood derived samples [1]. For analysis in neurodegenerative disorders like multiple sclerosis (MS), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is another highly interesting body fluid for protein profiling efforts [2].