Anti-histone antibodies in subacute sensory neuropathy

We investigated the levels of anti-histone antibodies in the sera of 7 patients with subacute sense neuropathy. IgG antibodies to histones HI and H3 were significantly elevated in 4 of these patients. The ai H1 antibodies reacted mainly with determinants located in the central globular and the carboxy-termi domain of the H1 molecule. We also observed reactivity of these sera with histone H1°, a variant founc terminally-differentiated cells such as neurons. This study suggests a potential for histones to serve autoantigens in humorally-mediated paraneoplastic diseases. © 1991 Kluwer Academic Publishers.