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Abstract Number: 730

The Association of Pulmonary Hypertension with Isolated Nucleolar Serum Autoantibodies in Systemic Sclerosis

Kathleen Aren1, Mary A. Carns1, Michael Cuttica2, Julia (Jungwha) Lee3, Virginia D. Steen4 and Monique Hinchcliff5, 1Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine Scleroderma Program, Chicago, IL, 2Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Chicago, IL, 3Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 4Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, 5Department of Medicine Division of Rheumatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL

Meeting: 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

Date of first publication: September 18, 2017

Keywords: antibodies and systemic sclerosis, Pulmonary Involvement

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Session Information

Date: Sunday, November 5, 2017

Title: Systemic Sclerosis, Fibrosing Syndromes and Raynaud's – Clinical Aspects and Therapeutics Poster I

Session Type: ACR Poster Session A

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose:  Serum antibodies are used to identify SSc patients who may be at higher risk for SSc-PH. The Pulmonary Hypertension Assessment and Recognition of Outcomes in Scleroderma (PHAROS) Registry cohort followed SSc-PH patients. We assessed the validity of prior reports of association between serum antibodies and PH using data from PHAROS and the Northwestern Scleroderma Registry (NW).

Methods: Antibody data were compared between PHAROS and NW subjects (mPAP ≥25 mmHg on right heart catheterization). World Health Organization PH group (pulmonary arterial hypertension/PAH=Group 1, pulmonary venous hypertension/PVH=Group 2, and PH-interstitial lung disease/PH-ILD=Group 3) was determined. The association between antibodies and PH was studied using two approaches: 1) antibody distribution was compared between PHAROS and NW PH subjects; 2) antibody distribution was compared between combined PHAROS and NW PH (in total and by WHO group) and NW subjects without PH.  Chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests were used for comparisons.

Results:   Clinical characteristics were similar for 326 PHAROS subjects and 768 NW Registry subjects, 84 with PH (Table 1). There were significant differences in antibodies between PHAROS and NW subjects, p=0.005 (Table 1). When the PH groups were combined (n=410) and compared to NW subjects without PH (n=684), the antibodies between the groups were significantly different, p<0.0001 (Table 2).  Subjects in the PH group had a higher percentage of isolated nucleolar antibodies (21%) compared to the NW subjects (8%).  Similar percentages of ACA were found in both groups (28% for the PH group and 27% for the NW subjects without PH.  When the subclassifications of PH groups were examined, the percentage of isolated nucleolar antibodies remained high in all 3 groups.

Conclusion:   Isolated nucleolar serum antibodies were more prevalent in PH subjects compared to non-PH NW subjects.  When the PH groups were examined separately, higher percentages of isolated nucleolar antibodies remained in all 3 groups.  Similar percentages of ACA were found in both the PH group and NW subjects without PH, suggesting that isolated nucleolar antibodies may be a more specific marker for PH than ACA.  Screening for isolated nucleolar antibodies may help to identify patients with SSc who are at higher risk for developing PH. 

Table 1: Clinical characteristics and serum autoantibody distribution between PHAROS and NW subjects

Mean (SD) or n, %

PHAROS

(All WHO groups)

n=326

NW PH

(All WHO groups)

n=84

p-value

Clinical characteristics

Age, years

58 (11)

52 (13)

0.003

Sex, women

262, 80%

70, 83%

0.83

Race/Ethnicity, Caucasian

236, 72%

54, 64%

0.15

SSc Subtype, lcSSc

198, 61%

54, 64%

0.55

mRSS

9 (9)

8 (7)

0.42

SSc disease duration, years

10 (9)

9 (9)

0.54

Serum autoantibodies

Negative

19, 6%

2, 2%

0.005

Anticentromere (ACA)

95, 29%

20, 24%

RNA Polymerase III

14, 4%

9, 11%

Anti-topoisomerase I (Scl-70)

44, 14%

18, 21%

U1RNP

13, 4%

2, 2%

Isolated nucleolar antinuclear

78, 24%

9, 11%

Other

63, 19%

24, 29%

Other=multiple antibodies, +ANA (homogenous, speckled, or multiple patterns)

Table 2: Distribution of autoantibodies in PHAROS and Northwestern PH (combined, all WHO groups) compared to Northwestern no PH

Autoantibodies

n, %

PHAROS and NW PH

(all WHO groups)

n=410

NW no PH

n=684

p-value

Negative

21, 5%

19, 3%

<0.0001

Anticentromere (ACA)

115, 28%

188, 27%

RNA Polymerase III

23, 6%

130, 19%

Anti-topoisomerase I (Scl-70)

62, 15%

151, 22%

U1RNP

15, 4%

29, 4%

Isolated nucleolar pattern

87, 21%

54, 8%

Other

87, 21%

113, 17%

Other=includes multiple antibodies, +ANA (homogenous, speckled, or multiple patterns)

Table 3: Autoantibodies in the Northwestern no PH group compared to PHAROS and Northwestern PH (combined), by WHO group

Autoantibodies

n, %

NW no PH

N=684

PHAROS and NW PH

PHAROS and

NW PAH

(Group 1)

n=266

PHAROS and

NW PVH

(Group 2)

n=74

PHAROS and

NW PH-ILD

(Group 3)

N=70

Negative

19, 3%

11, 4%

6, 8%

4, 6%

Anticentromere (ACA)

188, 27%

99, 37%

12, 16%

4, 6%

RNA Polymerase III

130, 19%

16, 6%

6, 8%

1, 1%

Anti-topoisomerase I (Scl-70)

151, 22%

22, 8%

13, 18%

27, 39%

U1RNP

29, 4%

9, 3%

3, 4%

3, 4%

Isolated nucleolar pattern

54, 8%

55, 21%

19, 26%

13, 19%

Other

113, 17%

54, 20%

15, 20%

18, 26%

Other= includes multiple antibodies, +ANA (homogenous, speckled, or multiple patterns)

When comparing distribution of autoantibodies between NW no PH and each PH group, p<0.0001.


Disclosure: K. Aren, None; M. A. Carns, None; M. Cuttica, None; J. Lee, None; V. D. Steen, None; M. Hinchcliff, None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Aren K, Carns MA, Cuttica M, Lee J, Steen VD, Hinchcliff M. The Association of Pulmonary Hypertension with Isolated Nucleolar Serum Autoantibodies in Systemic Sclerosis [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2017; 69 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/the-association-of-pulmonary-hypertension-with-isolated-nucleolar-serum-autoantibodies-in-systemic-sclerosis/. Accessed .
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