Antibodies to viral and non-viral antigens in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis and multiple sclerosis demonstrated by thin-layer polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing, antigen immunofixation and autoradiography.

Antibody activity in IgG zones separated by thin-layer polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing (PAG IEF) was determined in 3 patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), 4 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 4 subjects with psychosomatic disorders, using antigen immunofixation and autoradiography. Viral (measles herpes simplex type 1, mumps) and non-viral (purified bovine myelin, bovine myelin basic protein, bovine oligodendrocytes, MS and normal human brain extract) were used as antigens. All oligoclonal and some of the polyclonal CSF IgG zones in the patients with SSPE contained measles virus antibodies, as did some of the oligoclonal and polyclonal CSF IgG zones in 3 of the patients with MS. No antibodies were detectable in CSF or serum IgG zones against any of the non-viral antigens tested.