| 1. |
- Andraos, Rama, et al.
(författare)
-
Screening for autoimmune diseases in apparently healthy antinuclear antibody positive individuals
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Frontiers in Medicine. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-858X. ; 11
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) assessed by immunofluorescence (IF) microscopy are associated with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD) and can be detected years before onset of clinical symptoms. Recent data indicate dysregulation of the immune system with increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines, including type I interferons (IFN), in ANA-positive versus ANA-negative individuals. Herein, the aims were to investigate IF-ANA, ANA fine specificities, and IFN-α protein levels in relation to self-reported symptoms, as well as clinical signs, of SARD in a large group of healthy blood donors (HBD).Methods: Sera from 825 HBD (48.8% females) were included. IF-ANA was assessed, using HEp-2 cells, according to the routine at the accredited laboratory of Clinical Immunology, Linköping University Hospital. All samples were analyzed for IgG-ANA fine specificities using addressable laser bead assay (ALBIA) at the same laboratory. IFN-α was determined using ELISA. Antibody-positive individuals, and their sex- and age-matched antibody-negative controls, were asked to fill a questionnaire regarding symptoms associated with SARD.Results: In total, 130 HBD (15.8%) were positive with IF-ANA and/or ALBIA. Anti-U1RNP was significantly more common among women. Generally, self-reported symptoms correlated poorly with IF-ANA and/or ALBIA results. Two females with high levels of Ro60/SSA, Ro52/SSA and IFN-α reported mild sicca symptoms and were diagnosed with Sjögren’s disease after clinical evaluation.Conclusion: A considerable proportion of apparently HBD are autoantibody positive, but without clear association to self-reported symptoms. Nevertheless, the combination of autoantibodies, relevant symptoms and high IFN-α levels identified the small proportion of individuals with SARD in the study population.
|
|
| 2. |
- Enocsson, Helena, et al.
(författare)
-
Four Anti-dsDNA Antibody Assays in Relation to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Specificity and Activity
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Journal of Rheumatology. - : The Journal of Rheumatology. - 0315-162X .- 1499-2752. ; 42:5, s. 817-825
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective. Analysis of antibodies against dsDNA is an important diagnostic tool for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and changes in anti-dsDNA antibody levels are also used to assess disease activity. Herein, 4 assays were compared with regard to SLE specificity, sensitivity, and association with disease activity variables. Methods. Cross-sectional sera from 178 patients with SLE, of which 11 were followed consecutively, from a regional Swedish SLE register were analyzed for immunoglobulin G (IgG) anti-dsDNA by bead-based multiplex assay (FIDIS; Theradig), fluoroenzyme-immunoassay (EliA; Phadia/Thermo Fisher Scientific), Crithidia luciliae immunofluorescence test (CLIFT; ImmunoConcepts), and line blot (EUROLINE; Euroimmun). All patients with SLE fulfilled the 1982 American College of Rheumatology and/or the 2012 Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC-12) classification criteria. Healthy individuals (n = 100), patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 95), and patients with primary Sjogren syndrome (n = 54) served as controls. Results. CLIFT had the highest SLE specificity (98%) whereas EliA had the highest sensitivity (35%). When cutoff levels for FIDIS, EliA, and EUROLINE were adjusted according to SLICC-12 (i.e., double the reference limit when using ELISA), the specificity and sensitivity of FIDIS was comparable to CLIFT. FIDIS and CLIFT also showed the highest concordance (84%). FIDIS performed best regarding association with disease activity in cross-sectional and consecutive samples. Fisher's exact test revealed striking differences between methods regarding associations with certain disease phenotypes. Conclusion. CLIFT remains a good choice for diagnostic purposes, but FIDIS performs equally well when the cutoff is adjusted according to SLICC-12. Based on results from cross-sectional and consecutive analyses, FIDIS can also be recommended to monitor disease activity.
|
|
| 3. |
- Karlsson, Jesper, et al.
(författare)
-
Extracellular vesicles opsonized by monomeric C-reactive protein (CRP) are accessible as autoantigens in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and associate with autoantibodies against CRP
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Journal of Autoimmunity. - : Elsevier BV. - 0896-8411 .- 1095-9157. ; 139
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The pentraxin C-reactive protein (CRP) is a pentameric protein now known to be able to undergo dissociation into a monomeric, modified isoform, referred to as mCRP. In carefully assessing the bioactivities of each isoform, mCRP has strong pro-inflammatory activities while pCRP has mild anti-inflammatory activities. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a disease characterized by a vast number of autoantibodies, including anti-CRP autoan-tibodies which have been associated with SLE disease activity and lupus nephritis. The origin of these autoan-tibodies is currently unknown. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been implicated in SLE pathogenesis as they can expose nuclear antigens on their outside surface, thereby being a potential adjuvant for the generation of au-toantibodies. Herein, we studied exposure of both pCRP and mCRP on EVs in SLE plasma and the implications of each in disease activity, organ damage and clinical manifestations. We used flow cytometry to detect CRP iso-forms on EV surfaces in 67 well-characterized SLE patients and 60 sex-and age-matched healthy controls. Au-toantibodies against mCRP were measured using ELISA. We found an abundance of both pCRP and mCRP on SLE EVs compared to controls. Furthermore, mCRP+ but not pCRP+ EVs were elevated in patients with active disease and in anti-CRP positive patients. The proportions of mCRP+ EVs were lower in patients with acquired organ damage, especially in patients with lupus nephritis (LN), and displayed an inverse relationship with disease duration in LN and patients with active disease. Speculatively, these data suggest EV-bound mCRP as a relevant factor in SLE pathogenesis, which could contribute to development of anti-CRP autoantibodies by stimulating an immune response.
|
|
| 4. |
- Wirestam, Lina, et al.
(författare)
-
Interferon-α coincides with suppressed levels of pentraxin-3 (PTX3) in systemic lupus erythematosus and regulates leucocyte PTX3 in vitro
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Clinical and Experimental Immunology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0009-9104 .- 1365-2249. ; 189:1, s. 83-91
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dysfunctional elimination of cell debris, and the role of opsonins such as pentraxins, is of interest regarding systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pathogenesis. Interferon (IFN)- is typically elevated during SLE flares, and inhibits hepatocyte production of the pentraxin C-reactive protein' (CRP), partly explaining the poor correlation between CRP levels and SLE disease activity. The extrahepatically produced pentraxin 3' (PTX3) shares waste disposal functions with CRP, but has not been studied extensively in SLE. We analysed serum PTX3 in SLE, and assessed its interference with IFN- in vitro. Serum samples from 243 patients with SLE and 100 blood donors were analysed regarding PTX3. Patient sera were analysed for IFN-, and genotyped for three PTX3 single nucleotide polymorphisms reported previously to associate with PTX3 levels. Stimulated PTX3 release was assessed in the presence or absence of IFN- in blood donor neutrophils and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Serum PTX3 was 44% lower in patients with SLE compared to blood donors (P<00001) and correlated with leucocyte variables. Patients with undetectable IFN- had 29% higher median PTX3 level than patients with detectable IFN- (P=001). PTX3 production by PBMC was inhibited by IFN-, whereas neutrophil degranulation of PTX3 was increased. No differences in PTX3 levels were observed between the SNPs. In conclusion, median serum PTX3 is lower in SLE (especially when IFN- is detectable) compared to blood donors. In addition to its potential consumption during waste disposal, it is plausible that IFN- also attenuates PTX3 by inhibiting synthesis by PBMC and/or exhausting PTX3 storage in neutrophil granules.
|
|
