Background/Purpose:

Autoantibodies are defining features of autoimmune diseases. How and why the autoantibodies are produced and how these autoantibodies relate to pathogenesis is poorly understood. Current study is to examine the role of anti-microbial antibodies in patients with Sjogren’s syndrome and Crohn’s disease.

Methods:

We have discovered a panel of serology biomarkers against microbial antigens through Western blot analysis, mass spectrometry, immunohistochemistry and ELISA assays.

Results:

We have discovered a novel panel of anti-microbial antibodies from the blood of patients with Sjogren’s syndrome and Crohn’s disease, and these antimicrobial antibodies are significantly elevated in the patients in comparison to the healthy controls. The anti-microbial antibodies are directed to RPOB (S135) from S. aureus, EF-G (S75) from S. aureus/pseudintermedius, Hsp65 (M60) from Mycobacterium, ATP5a (S55) from S. aureus and EF-Tu (E41) from E. coli. These bacteria are commensal commonly present on the surface of human body, in the gut, and environment. Specific monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against these microbial proteins can cross-react to the normal human tissues by immunohistochemistry. We have tested 23 patients with Sjogren’s and 45 patients with Crohn’s disease for the blood levels of these anti-microbial antibodies below in comparison to 288 normal controls. We also found these anti-microbial antibodies are elevated in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and Lyme disease.

Conclusion:

The defining features of autoantibodies in autoimmune diseases may in fact be anti-microbial antibodies with cross-reactivity to human tissues. The presence of anti-microbial antibodies with cross-reactivity to human tissue may provide a basis of pathogenesis in autoimmune disease through molecular mimicry and offer new direction of research in disease mechanisms and therapeutics for a spectrum of autoimmune diseases.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/testing-for-anti-microbial-antibodies-with-cross-reactivity-to-human-tissue-in-autoimmune-diseases/