Auti-glycolipied Antibodies in the Sera of Patients with Sudden Deafness

Abstract

Antibodies against glycolipids (GM1, GA1, GA2, Forssman antigen, and globoside) and triphosphoinositide in the sera with sudden deafness were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A significant elevation in titers of anti-GA1 and GA2 antibodies which did not cross-react with other glycolipid antigens used was found in serum of a patient. The antibodies were IgM isotype and surprisingly disappeared from the serum during the course of therapy. The similar antibody with anti-GA1 specificity was detected in the sera with the same disease with probability of 30%. However, the correlation between antibody titers and clinical course of the disease was not distinct The reason why plasma cells producing these antibodies were specifically stimulated seems to be important for understanding the aetiology of the disease.