Increased intramuscular nerve branching and inhibition of programmed cell death of chick embryo motoneurons by immunoglobulins from patients with motoneuron disease

Hernández, Sara; Texidó, Laura; Calderó, Jordi; Ciutat, Dolors; Piedrafita, Lídia; Casanovas, Anna; Blasi, Joan; Solsona, Carles; Povedano, Mònica; Rojas, Ricardo; Illa, Isabel; Caress, James; Prevette, David; Oppenheim, Ronald W.; Milligan, Carol; Esquerda, Josep E.

doi:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2010.07.028

« Previous Next »Journal of Neuroimmunology
Volume 229, Issue 1 , Pages 157-168, 15 December 2010

Increased intramuscular nerve branching and inhibition of programmed cell death of chick embryo motoneurons by immunoglobulins from patients with motoneuron disease

Sara Hernández
- Universitat de Lleida, Facultat de Medicina, Departament de Medicina Experimental, and IRBLLEIDA, Montserrat Roig 2, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain
Laura Texidó
- Universitat de Barcelona, Departament de Patologia i Terapèutica Experimental, and IDIBELL, Spain
Jordi Calderó
- Universitat de Lleida, Facultat de Medicina, Departament de Medicina Experimental, and IRBLLEIDA, Montserrat Roig 2, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain
Dolors Ciutat
- Universitat de Lleida, Facultat de Medicina, Departament de Medicina Experimental, and IRBLLEIDA, Montserrat Roig 2, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain
Lídia Piedrafita
- Universitat de Lleida, Facultat de Medicina, Departament de Medicina Experimental, and IRBLLEIDA, Montserrat Roig 2, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain
Anna Casanovas
- Universitat de Lleida, Facultat de Medicina, Departament de Medicina Experimental, and IRBLLEIDA, Montserrat Roig 2, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain
Joan Blasi
- Universitat de Barcelona, Departament de Patologia i Terapèutica Experimental, and IDIBELL, Spain
Carles Solsona
- Universitat de Barcelona, Departament de Patologia i Terapèutica Experimental, and IDIBELL, Spain
Mònica Povedano
- Hospital de Bellvitge, Servei de Neurologia, C. Feixa Llarga s/n, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalonia, Spain
Ricardo Rojas
- Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Departament de Neurologia, C. Sant Antoni Maria Claret 167, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Isabel Illa
- Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Departament de Neurologia, C. Sant Antoni Maria Claret 167, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
James Caress
- Department of Neurology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA
- ALS Center, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA
David Prevette
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy and Neuroscience Program, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA
Ronald W. Oppenheim
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy and Neuroscience Program, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA
- ALS Center, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA
Carol Milligan
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy and Neuroscience Program, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA
- ALS Center, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA
Josep E. Esquerda
- Universitat de Lleida, Facultat de Medicina, Departament de Medicina Experimental, and IRBLLEIDA, Montserrat Roig 2, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain
- Corresponding author. Unitat de Neurobiologia Cel·lular, Departament de Medicina Experimental, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Lleida, C. Montserrat Roig 2, 25008 Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. Tel.: +34 973 702427; fax: +34 973 702426.

Received 26 March 2010; received in revised form 27 July 2010; accepted 28 July 2010. published online 01 September 2010.

Abstract

Massive programmed cell death (PCD) of developing chick embryo motoneurons (MNs) occurs in a well defined temporal and spatial sequence between embryonic day (E) 6 and E10. We have found that, when administered in ovo, either circulating immunoglobulins G (IgGs) or cerebrospinal fluid from patients with MN disease can rescue a significant number of chick embryo MNs from normally occurring PCD. An increase of branching of intramuscular nerves was also observed that may account for the rescuing effects of pathologic IgGs. Proteomic analysis and further analysis by ELISA indicated that these effects may be mediated by the interaction of circulating human immunoglobulins with proteins of the semaphorin family.

Keywords: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Immunoglobulins, Semaphorin, Programmed cell death, Motoneuron, Chick embryo, Cerebrospinal fluid