HLA class II-restricted binding of muramyl peptides to B lymphocytes of normal and narcoleptic subjects

Hum Immunol. 1990 Mar;27(3):145-54. doi: 10.1016/0198-8859(90)90046-r.

Abstract

The propensity for narcolepsy, a clinical sleep disorder of unknown etiology, is virtually totally included within the HLA-DR2,DQw1 (DRw15,DQw6) phenotype. The disorder is characterized by decreased sleep latency, early onset of rapid eye movement sleep, and a paucity of nocturnal slow-wave sleep. Muramyl peptides, naturally occurring bacterial cell wall peptidoglycans, potently enhance the duration and amplitude of slow-wave sleep in animals, bind to murine mononuclear cells, and exhibit a major histocompatibility complex-restricted immunoadjuvant effect in mice. We examined the binding of muramyl peptides to peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes of HLA-typed normal (n = 13) and narcoleptic (n = 10) subjects. Muramyl peptides bound specifically and with high affinity to normal B- but not T-lymphocyte-enriched preparations. There was no significant specific binding to B-cell-enriched preparations from narcoleptic patients. Furthermore, B-lymphocyte-enriched preparations of normal individuals who had the HLA-DR2,DQw1 phenotype (n = 8) exhibited a lower level of specific binding than those of normals who did not have this phenotype (n = 5, p less than 0.001). These observations are an additional indication of the relevance of muramyl peptides to slow-wave sleep and provide a basis for a better understanding of the relation between narcolepsy and the MHC at the biochemical level.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine / metabolism*
  • Adult
  • B-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • B-Lymphocytes / metabolism*
  • Binding Sites
  • Cell Membrane / metabolism
  • Cell Separation
  • Female
  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / immunology*
  • Histocompatibility Testing
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Narcolepsy / immunology*
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology

Substances

  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class II
  • Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine