| 摘要 |
A method for detecting a de-myelinating disease or spongiform encephalopathy in mammals comprises testing a biological sample obtained from the mammal for IgA antibodies indicative of infection by an Acinetobacter species. The Acinetobacter species is one which presents to the mammal an antigen which exhibits molecular mimicry with the myelin of the mammal e.g. Acinetobacter calcoaceticus. The antibodies tested for are antibodies which bind to an epitope present in or derived from the Acinetobacter species or to a prepared peptide sequence corresponding thereto or to a conformationally similar peptide sequence e.g. the peptide sequence RFSAWGAE or ISRFAWGEV. The method tests for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, multiple sclerosis and Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in humans. A test kit uses as the test antigen the whole Acinetobacter organism or at least one prepared peptide sequence as described above and a secondary antibody against the human, bovine, or other mammalian IgA. |
