Application of Liposome Immune Lysis Assay for Studies on Anti-Ganglioside Antibodies.

Abstract

In the serum from patients with certain neurological diseases, antibodies against GM1 ganglioside are detected in high titers, suggesting that these antibodies may be involved in the pathological process. In this present study the liposome immune lysis assay was applied to determine anti-ganglioside antibodies in serum, and the results were compared with those of the commonly used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, where gangliosides are fixed on a solid surface. This liposome method is based on the measurement of a fluorescent dye released from liposomes by complement-mediated immune lysis. The value of the specific release of a fluorescent dye from liposomes by the serum from normal control individuals was used as a criterion to evaluate the antibody level. The values of the specific marker release from liposomes by anti-GM1 antibodies were scarcely correlated with the titers of IgM or IgG antibodies measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, suggesting that the nature of anti-GM1 antibodies detected by the two assay methods may be different. The antibodies detected by the liposome immune lysis assay may represent those involved in membrane lysis, which occurs in the pathogenesis of some neurological diseases.