Longevity & AgingAntibody Sugar Patterns in Spinal Fluid May Predict Recovery From NMDAR Encephalitis
Researchers analyzed Fc-glycosylation, the sugar decoration on antibodies, in paired blood and spinal fluid (CSF) samples from 50 patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis. Antibodies in CSF had less sialylation and galactosylation than those in serum, a more pro-inflammatory profile, suggesting localized immune activity in the central nervous system. This pattern was strongest in post-herpes cases, which also had more bisecting GlcNAc. Patients with poor one-year outcomes (mRS ≥3) had lower sialylation, galactosylation, and, in CSF, lower fucosylation at disease onset. The differences were modest and the cohort was small, with analyses that were exploratory and uncorrected for multiple testing. Even so, antibody glycan profiling could eventually serve as a prognostic biomarker, but validation in larger, independent cohorts is needed.
