Comparison of Purkinje cell cytotoxicity produced by anti-Yo antibodies with cytotoxicity produced by commercial and patient antibodies reactive with other Purkinje cell cytoplasmic proteins.

<p>Rat cerebellar slice cultures were incubated for 72 hours with either 1) sera from patients with anti-Yo antibodies; 2) commercial antibodies to calbindin, calmodulin, or PCP-2/L7; 3) anti-Purkinje cells antibodies from the three neurologically normal patients studied, whose sera labeled Purkinje cell cytoplasm but did not react with Yo antigens; or 4) normal human IgG. Cultures were quantified for cell death as indicated by uptake of SYTOX dyes. Extensive Purkinje cell death was seen in cultures incubated with all 4 anti-Yo sera (data for 2 anti-Yo sera not shown). In contrast, cell death was not observed in cultures incubated with any of the three commercially obtained antibodies reactive with intracellular anti-Purkinje cell proteins nor with sera from Patients 1–3, despite extensive Purkinje cell uptake. Cultures incubated with normal human IgG exhibited only faint antibody accumulation by Purkinje cells and no detectable Purkinje cell death. Statistical significance between groups was determined by non-parametric Mann-Whitney ANOVA. Death in cultures incubated with anti-Yo antisera was statistically significantly greater than that seen in cultures incubated with commercial antisera, sera from patients 1–3, or normal human IgG.