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Advanced Neurology

REVIEW ARTICLE
Reactive antibodies against brain antigens as

serological biomarkers of neurodegenerative
diseases

1,2
2,3
June Egiguren-Ortiz , Celtia Domínguez-Fernández , Jone Razquin ,
1,2
1
2,4
2,3
Laura De las Heras-García , Egoitz Astigarraga , Cristina Miguelez *, and
1
Gabriel Barreda-Gómez *
1 Research and Development Division, IMG Pharma Biotech S.L., Zamudio, Spain
2 Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country
UPV/EHU, Leioa, Spain
3 Neurodegenerative Diseases Group, BioBizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Spain
4 University of Bordeaux, Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, UMR 5293, Bordeaux, France

Abstract

The aging of the population, attributed to increased life expectancy, coincides with a
rise in the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and
Parkinson’s disease. The symptoms of these disorders, such as motor disturbances
and cognitive impairment, occur only after significant neurological damage, greatly
*Corresponding authors: diminishing the effectiveness of treatments. Consequently, achieving early diagnosis
Cristina Miguelez of neurodegenerative diseases stands as a paramount global health challenge. These
(cristina.miguelez@ehu.eus) conditions are characterized by the progressive loss of specific neuronal groups in
Gabriel Barreda-Gómez
(gabriel.barreda@imgpharma.com) the nervous system, resulting in dysfunction and eventual cell death in the brain.
Although the exact cause of neuronal degeneration remains largely unknown,
Citation: Egiguren-Ortiz J, recent studies have revealed the significant involvement of the immune system in
Domínguez-Fernández C,
Razquin J, et al. Reactive the pathogenesis of these diseases. Notably, the identification of reactive antibodies
antibodies against brain antigens targeting specific antigens has highlighted a close association between immune
as serological biomarkers of mechanisms and the neurodegenerative process. Thus, the aim of this review is to
neurodegenerative diseases.
Adv Neuro. 2024;3(1):2058. explore the mechanisms of the adaptive immune system and their impact on the
https://doi.org/10.36922/an.2058 pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, with a particular focus on reactive
Received: October 18, 2023 antibodies and their potential as diagnostic biomarkers.
Accepted: January 9, 2024
Keywords: Biomarker; Neurodegenerative diseases; Reactive antibodies; Adaptive
Published Online: March 13, 2024
immune
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, 1. Introduction
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is Historically, the central nervous system (CNS) has been considered an immune-
properly cited. privileged area, a notion based on tissue graft survival within the CNS parenchyma
Publisher’s Note: AccScience and the perceived blockage imposed by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) against immune
Publishing remains neutral with cell efferent inputs. However, recent insights challenge this claim, revealing that graft
1,2
regard to jurisdictional claims in 3
published maps and institutional rejection depends on the CNS region, and circulating immune cells can traverse the
4,5
affiliations. BBB not only in the disease but also in healthy individuals. Furthermore, meningeal

Volume 3 Issue 1 (2024) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/an.2058