id_1001. IMPLEMENTATION OF IN-HOUSE CELL-BASED ASSAYS FOR THE DETECTION OF NEURAL AUTOANTIBODIES IN CEREBROSPINAL FLUID
Olgerd Babkin1,2, Neringa Daugelaviciene1,2, Mantas Vaisvilas3, Urte Neniskyte1,2
1 Institute of Bioscience, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
2 VU LSC-EMBL Partnership for Genome Editing Technologies, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
3 Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos, Vilnius, Lithuania
INTRODUCTION: The identification of disease-specific neural antibodies has paved the way for a new subspecialty in clinical medicine known as autoimmune neurology.
AIM(S): This is an exciting field for clinical and academic work because accurate diagnosis through the identification of neural antibodies can lead to complete remission of severe neurological impairment associated with these conditions. However, this clinical promise hinges on the precision of the diagnostic platform.
METHOD(S): Unlike traditional solid-phase assays, the Cell-Based Assay (CBA) platform expresses antigens in their native, three-dimensional conformational states within eukaryotic cells – a methodological approach critical for maintaining diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.
RESULTS: In this study, we successfully implemented an in-house CBA to detect autoantibodies against glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and cerebellar degeneration-related protein 2-like (CDR2L) in patient cerebrospinal fluid.
CONCLUSIONS: Integrating these specialized assays into diagnostic workflows has the potential to enhance detection sensitivity and provide the high-fidelity data necessary for more accurate diagnosis and targeted treatment strategies.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT: Adenovirus vectors for clinical gene transfer
HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Grant agreement ID: 101098647