Detection and clinical value of NMO-IgG in neuromyelitis optica

Abstract

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) of autoimmune etiology which predominantly affects the optic nerves and spinal cord. In 2004, a highly specific serum antibody, NMO-IgG, was found in the sera of NMO patients. Subsequently, the target antigen of NMO-IgG was identified as aquaporin 4 (AQP4), a water channel densely expressed in optic nerves, spinal cord and area around cerebral ventricles. NMO-IgG/AQP4 antibody has demonstrated extreme importance for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis, the evaluation of disease activity, therapeutic effect and prognosis of NMO. In recent years, different techniques have been used to examine NMO-IgG in serum and cerebrospinal fluid, including tissue-based, cell-based and protein-based assays. In this review, the authors give an overview of the tests currently available for the detection of NMO-IgG and their clinical significance.

doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2014.09.003