Detection of B cell antigens in multiple sclerosis. Use of serum from multiparous women

D. E. McFarlin, E. S. Mingioli, T. N. Behar and H. F. McFarland

Sera from two multiparous wives of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were used to detect B cell antigens in other patients. With serum X, 11 of 16 patients were positive as compared with ten of 16 controls (.05 less than P less than .1). With serum Y, a positive response was found in 11 of 16 patients and two of 23 controls (P less than .0005). Ten of the 11 patients who were positive with serum Y were also HLA-Dw2, which suggests that the B cell antigen detected by this serum is linked to Dw2. Three of four Dw2-positive controls were negative with serum Y, which raises two alternative hypothetical possibilities concerning the B cell antigen. These findings indicate that serum from multiparous wives may be an important tool in the investigation of the genetic components associated with MS.