A novel simple immunoassay for quantification of blood anti-NMDAR1 autoantibodies

• Published in: PeerJ
• Main Authors: Melonie Vaughn, Susan Powell, Victoria Risbrough, Xianjin Zhou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: PeerJ Inc. 2025-03-01
• Subjects: Anti-NMDAR1 autoantibodies; Cross-species; Immunoassay; Cell-based assay; Immunohistochemistry
• Online Access: https://peerj.com/articles/19212.pdf
• ISSN: 2167-8359

Low titers of blood circulating anti-NMDAR1 autoantibodies have been reported in a significant subset of the general human population. Currently, immunohistochemical staining and cell-based assays are the standard methods for their detection and semi-quantification. However, detection and quantification of these low titers of blood circulating anti-NMDAR1 autoantibodies are problematic because of high non-specific background. Development of a new method to more accurately quantify these low titers of blood anti-NMDAR1 autoantibodies will facilitate studies on their potential impacts on psychiatric symptoms and cognition. We previously reported a robust production of anti-NMDAR1 autoantibodies against the ligand binding domain of NMDAR1. As a proof of principle, we report the development of a novel simple immunoassay for quantification of cross-species blood anti-NMDAR1 autoantibodies and its validation with immunohistochemistry and cell-based assays in both humans and mice. Specificity of our quantification was also investigated.