Streptococcal Antibody Probe Crosses the Blood Brain Barrier and Interacts within the Basal Ganglia
2015
Within the brain, the basal ganglia (basal
nuclei) regulates wanted movement and inhibits unwanted movement. This area of
the brain is intertwined with capillary beds that bring nutrients to the brain
and form the blood brain barrier. During disease state, antibodies are
increased in circulation and movement of these antibodies into the basal
ganglia can occur. Streptococcal infection can lead to the generation of
antibodies that have autoimmune activity within the brain. These antibodies
have been implicated in neurological disorders. In our laboratory, an in vitro
study of a monoclonal mouse antibody generated against the class 1 epitope of
the M6 protein has demonstrated binding within the basal ganglia of Lewis rat
brains. Here we present an in vivo study using Lewis rats injected with either
the streptococcal antibody or an anti-myosin positive control. The interaction
and movement of the antibody from blood vessels into the tissues of the basal
ganglia was determined through the use of immunofluorescence and fluorescent
microscopy and is contrasted with IgG injected and uninjected controls. Our
data demonstrates that the streptococcal antibody penetrates the blood brain
barrier within 24 hours (as determined by the presence of immunofluorescence outside
of blood vessels) and remains significantly elevated above control values even
72 hours after injection (p < 0.05). In contrast, the anti-myosin positive
control was not visualized in the interstitial fluid until 48 hours post
injection and was no longer significantly above control levels by 72 hours. IgG
injected controls did not display movement of antibody into the brain.
Therefore, the streptococcal antibody is capable of crossing the blood brain
barrier and interacting with tissues of the basal ganglia.
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