Assessment of oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid and serum of dogs with meningoencephalitis of unknown origin

Julia K Prümmer; Veronika M Stein; Eliane Marti; Andreas Lutterotti; Ilijas Jelcic; Gertraud Schüpbach-Regula; Thorsten Buch; Arianna Maiolini

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0280864

Assessment of oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid and serum of dogs with meningoencephalitis of unknown origin

PLoS One. 2023 Jan 25;18(1):e0280864. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280864. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Julia K Prümmer¹, Veronika M Stein¹, Eliane Marti², Andreas Lutterotti³, Ilijas Jelcic³, Gertraud Schüpbach-Regula⁴, Thorsten Buch⁵, Arianna Maiolini¹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Clinical Neurology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
² Division of Neurological Sciences, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
³ Department of Neurology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁴ Department of Clinical Research and Public Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁵ Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Abstract

Background: Meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO) is an inflammatory disease of the canine central nervous system (CNS) that shares several features with multiple sclerosis (MS) in humans. In approximately 95% of MS patients, ≥ two immunoglobulin G (IgG) oligoclonal bands (OCBs) are detectable exclusively in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Hypothesis/objectives: To investigate OCBs in CSF and serum in dogs affected by MUO, intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), idiopathic epilepsy (IE), intracranial neoplasia (IN), steroid-responsive meningitis-arteritis (SRMA), and diseases outside the CNS. We hypothesize that the highest prevalence of CSF-specific OCBs (≥ two OCBs uniquely in the CSF) would be found in dogs affected by MUO.

Animals: Client-owned dogs (n = 121) presented to the neurology service due to neurological deficits.

Methods: Prospective study. Measurement of IgG concentration in CSF and serum via a canine IgG ELISA kit. OCB detection via isoelectric focusing (IEF) and immunoblot.

Results: Presence of CSF-specific OCBs was significantly higher in dogs with MUO (57%) compared to 22% in IN, 6% in IE, 15% in SRMA, 13% in IVDD, and 0% in the non-CNS group (p < .001). Dogs with MUO were 9.9 times more likely to show CSF-specific OCBs than all other diseases together (95% confidence interval, 3.7-26.4; p < .001).

Conclusions and clinical importance: MUO showed the highest prevalence of CSF-specific OCBs, indicating an inflammatory B cell response. Future studies are needed to evaluate the prevalence in the specific MUO subtypes and a possible similarity with human MS.

Copyright: © 2023 Prümmer et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Arteritis* / veterinary
Brain Neoplasms*
Dogs
Humans
Immunoglobulin G / cerebrospinal fluid
Meningitis* / veterinary
Meningoencephalitis* / veterinary
Multiple Sclerosis* / diagnosis
Oligoclonal Bands / cerebrospinal fluid
Prospective Studies

Substances

Oligoclonal Bands
Immunoglobulin G

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Board of Specialization of the Vetsuisse Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bern as well as the Albert-Heim-Stiftung, Bern. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.