The level of tumor necrosis-alpha factor in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNP-alpha) concentration was measured in CSF of 21 patients with active multiple sclerosis (MS) 10 patients with radiculopathy (RP) 9 patients with cerebrovascular insult (CVI) and 6 pa tients with other neurologic diseases (OND; cephalea, migraine, vertigo and aphasia). The cytokine was determined by a sensitive bioassay with WEHI 164 cells, clone 13. TNF-alpha was positive (values > 12/pg/ml) in 5 (24 %) out of 21 patients with MS. It was also positive in 3/10 (30 %) patients with RP, and in 1/9 (11 %) patients with CVI, and was absent in all the six patients with OND. Almost all CSF samples which had tao TNF-alpha activity enhanced (facilitated) the growth of WEHI 164 cells in comparison to the growth of the same cells in the medium alone. This growth enhancement could not be inhibited with monoclonal antibodies against human nerve growth (hNGFR) receptor, nor the recombinant hNGF had any effect on the growth of WEHI 164 cells. About 40 % of this CSF facilitating activity could be inactivated by heating of CSFs at 70 degrees C for 30 minutes, and the rest of the activity was thermostabile. Mixing experiments showed the CSFs to contain. a factor which blocked the activity of recombinant human TNF-alpha, indicating that the activity of endogenous TNF-alpha in MS patients night be mashed by this factor.