Search: onr:"swepub:oai:DiVA.org:uu-416341" >
Autoimmunity in Afr...
Autoimmunity in Africa: Comparing Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Anti-phospholipid Antibodies in Sudan and Sweden
-
- Elbagir, Sahwa, 1983- (author)
- Uppsala universitet,Klinisk immunologi,Johan Rönnelid
-
- Rönnelid, Johan, Professor (thesis advisor)
- Uppsala universitet,Institutionen för medicinska vetenskaper,Klinisk immunologi
-
- Gunnarsson, Iva, Professor (thesis advisor)
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital
-
show more...
-
- Elshafie, Amir I, Doctor (thesis advisor)
- Uppsala University
-
- Nilsson, Bo, Professor (thesis advisor)
- Uppsala universitet,Klinisk immunologi
-
- Gabay, Cem, Professor (opponent)
- Department of Medicine and Department of Pathology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva; Service of Rheumatology, Geneva University Hospital
-
show less...
-
(creator_code:org_t)
- ISBN 9789151309781
- Uppsala : Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2020
- English 61 s.
-
Series: Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Medicine, 1651-6206 ; 1673
- Related links:
-
https://uu.diva-port... (primary) (Raw object)
-
show more...
-
https://uu.diva-port... (Preview)
-
https://urn.kb.se/re...
-
show less...
Abstract
Subject headings
Close
- Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic immune complex (IC)-mediated disease with variable prevalence worldwide, reported to be more common in Africans, Hispanics and Asians than in Caucasian populations. Expression of autoantibodies might vary between different ethnic populations due to environmental and genetic factors. Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) react with several antigenic targets of negatively charged phospholipids and/or associated plasma proteins. In this thesis we have studied the immunological and clinical characteristics of SLE in patients from Sudan and Sweden using an identical methodology. We have also investigated the occurrence of aPL during healthy pregnancies in both countries.Sudanese patients with SLE were younger, had shorter disease duration and suffered from more organ damage compared to Swedish patients. Neurological involvement, predominantly in young patients, was the main contributor to organ damage among the Sudanese patients. When comparing anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) specificities in IC between Sudanese and Swedish patients, different results from ANA detected in serum was observed. While serum ANA levels were mainly higher in Swedish SLE patients, levels of most ANA specificities in IC, particularly anti-chromatin specificities, were increased in Sudanese patients. In both cohorts, ANA in IC associated with more active SLE. Sudanese SLE patients had a higher prevalence of IgA aPL using common assay cut-off points. However, aPL levels among controls were also higher in Sudan, and when cut-offs were adjusted based on national controls the difference in prevalence between the patient groups was no longer evident. A more recently defined test measuring antibody against the phosphatidylserine/prothrombin complex was the best aPL predictor of thrombosis in Swedish SLE patients, independent of cardiovascular risk factors and antiphospholipid antibody syndrome criteria tests. Levels of IgA aPL, particularly anti-β2 glycoprotein I, were higher in normal pregnancies of healthy women from Sudan. This was not observed in Swedish pregnancies, and it was not due to reactivity against domain 1 of the β2 glycoprotein I molecule.Levels of autoantibodies differed both for patients and healthy individuals from Sudan and Sweden, and the occurrence of antibodies among patients depended on the cut-offs used. Adjustments to national cut-offs revealed more associations between autoantibody occurrence and clinical manifestations in Sudan. We recommend that the evaluation of autoantibody prevalence and clinical significance in autoimmune diseases in populations of African origin should rely on cut-offs based on controls from the same population, both in research and clinical contexts.
Keyword
- SLE
- anti-phospholipid antibodies
- IgA
- immune complexes
- pregnancy
- autoimmunity
- Sudan
- Africa
- Klinisk immunologi
- Clinical Immunology
Publication and Content Type
- vet (subject category)
- dok (subject category)
Find in a library
To the university's database
- By the author/editor
-
Elbagir, Sahwa, ...
-
Rönnelid, Johan, ...
-
Gunnarsson, Iva, ...
-
Elshafie, Amir I ...
-
Nilsson, Bo, Pro ...
-
Gabay, Cem, Prof ...
- Parts in the series
-
Digital Comprehe ...
- By the university
-
Uppsala University