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Tumour expression of NMDA receptors unmasks germline antibodies that cause brain inflammation
A mouse breast-cancer model expressing NMDA receptors traced how pre-existing B cells matured into diverse autoimmune antibodies, and transfer of one antibody into brains recapitulated inflammatory features of autoimmune encephalitis.
Mar 25th 2026 ยท World
Insights
- Breast cancer cells engineered to express NMDARs activated pre-existing B cells that matured into autoantibodies.
- The antibodies produced had diverse effects on NMDAR function.
- Injecting one of the antibodies into mouse brains reproduced key features of autoimmune brain inflammation.
- Ectopic NMDAR expression in cancer can reveal germline-encoded autoreactivity and link tumours to paraneoplastic encephalitis.