Autoimmune-mediated neural inflammation can affect both the central and the peripheral nervous system, e.g., in limbic encephalitis and polyneuropathic syndromes.
Next to well-established anti-neuronal antibodies with intracellular antigens (anti-Hu, Ri, Ma2, GAD, CV2, amphiphysin antibodies) or cell surface antigens (anti-GABAa/b, NMDA, AMPA-receptor, LGI1, CASPR2 antibodies), recently antibodies against the cell surface protein flotillin have been described in patients with limbic encephalitis, in patients with sensorimotor demyelinating polyneuropathy, in patients with multiple sclerosis and neurogenic muscle atrophy.
Flotillin proteins are membrane-bound chaperones that localize to lipid rafts. Proteins in this entry include flotillin-1 and flotillin-2. Flotillin-1 and flotillin-2 are associated with membrane microdomains known as rafts. They play a role in various cellular processes such as insulin signaling, T cell activation, membrane trafficking, phagocytosis, and epidermal growth factor receptor signaling.
