Antibodies reactive to heat shock protein 90 induce oligodendrocyte precursor cell death in culture. Implications for demyelination in multiple sclerosis

Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) are extremely efficient at remyelination. These cells persist in the adult human central nervous system and can proliferate. However, the failure to remyelinate is a pathological characteristic of the human demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis (MS), which suggests that these cells are ineffective in this disorder. This paper reports that IgG antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of MS patients specifically recognize an antigen on OPCs in culture. Control patients were found not to possess these antibodies. The antigen was immunoprecipitated in cell extracts from cultures with purified IgG from MS CSF. Peptide mass fingerprinting identified it as the β type of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90). Two‐dimensional electrophoresis and immunoblot showed that this antigen in fact corresponds to two specific isoforms of Hsp90β. Several control assays using monoclonal and polyclonal anti‐Hsp90 antibodies confirmed the specific expression of Hsp90 on OPCs. Labeling OPCs in vivo with MS CSF and anti‐Hsp90 antibodies and subsequent immunofluorescence confocal microscopy located the antigen on the cell surface. The binding of CSF antibodies from MS patients to the OPC surface led to complement activation and significant extinction of the OPC population. These results suggest that OPCs may be a target of anti‐Hsp90 antibodies in MS patients and that this could prevent remyelination.