Proteasome antibodies in paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration

Antibodies to proteasome have been detected in several autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis. We have investigated the presence of such antibodies in patients with paraneoplastic neurological syndromes, by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Antibodies to 20S proteasome were detected in the majority of patients with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD), but in only one of nine sera from patients with paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis/sensory neuronopathy (PEM/SN), and were not found in cancer patients in general. The results suggest that the immune responses in PCD differ from those of PEM/SN, whereas the functional significance of proteasome antibodies in PCD is yet to be determined.