Novel serum autoantibodies against talin1 in multiple sclerosis: Possible pathogenetic roles of the antibodies

• We identified antibodies against talin1 in sera from MS patients by SEREX.
• SEREX is a good tool for identifying antigens of patients with autoimmune diseases.
• The titers were remarkably higher in MS patients than in normal controls.
• Anti-TLN1 antibodies may inhibit lymphocyte transendothelial migration.
• Anti-TLN1 antibodies may have a protective action in MS pathogenesis.

In the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), B cell/antibody-related mechanisms have recently received attention. To investigate the role of autoantibody in MS, we performed SEREX which can identify autoantibody cyclopedically. We identified serum antibodies against cytoskeletal protein talin1, and the levels of whom were remarkably higher in 39 MS than 43 normal controls (P < 0.01) and 35 disease controls (P = 0.06), and in MS patients without oligoclonal bands than ones with them. Moreover, we found negative-correlations between serum anti-talin1 antibody and IgG index in MS (P = 0.03). Anti-talin1 antibody exists in MS patients' sera, which may have some protective factor.