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Agostinis C, Zito G, Toffoli M, Peterlunger I, Simoni L, Balduit A, Curtolo E, Mangogna A, Belmonte B, Vacca D, Romano F, Stampalija T, Salviato T, Defendi F, Di Simone N, Kishore U, Ricci G, Bulla R. A longitudinal study of C1q and anti-C1q autoantibodies in homologous and heterologous pregnancies for predicting pre-eclampsia. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1037191. [DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1037191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
C1q, the recognition molecule of the classical pathway of the complement system, plays a central role in pregnancy. Lack of C1q is characterized by poor trophoblast invasion and pregnancy failure. C1q can be the target of an antibody response: anti‐C1q autoantibodies (anti-C1q) are present in several infectious and autoimmune diseases. The presence of these autoantibodies has been detected also in 2-8% of the general population. Recent evidence indicates that women who undergo assisted reproductive technology (ART) have an increased risk of developing pre-eclampsia (PE), particularly oocyte donation (OD) pregnancies. The aim of this study was to characterize the levels of C1q and anti-C1q in PE gestations, in healthy spontaneous, homologous and heterologous ART pregnancies. Serum of the following four groups of women, who were followed throughout two or three trimesters, were collected: PE, patients diagnosed with PE; OD, oocyte donation recipients; HOM, homologous ART women; Sp, spontaneous physiological pregnancy. Our results indicate that PE patients have lower levels of anti-C1q. In ART pregnant women, the trend of C1q and anti-C1q levels were similar to PE patients, even though these women did not develop PE-like symptoms during pregnancy. This finding suggests an immunological dysfunction at the foetal-maternal interface in ART pregnancies, a hypothesis confirmed by the observation of C1q deposition in placentae derived from OD, comparable to PE. Since significantly lower levels of anti-C1q were detected in PE compared to healthy control sera, we hypothesize the possible binding on placental syncytiotrophoblast microvesicles (STBM), which are increased in the circulation of PE mothers. Furthermore, the characterization of the binding-epitope of anti-C1q revealed that “physiological” autoantibodies were mainly directed against C1q globular domain. We concluded that anti-C1q could have a physiological role in pregnancy: during the healthy spontaneous pregnancy the raised levels of these autoantibodies can be important for the clearance of STBM. In PE and in pathological pregnancies (but also in OD pregnancies), the increase in syncytiotrophoblast apoptosis and consequent increase of the circulating STMB levels lead to a consumption of C1q and anti-C1q.
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Dijkstra DJ, Lokki AI, Gierman LM, Borggreven NV, van der Keur C, Eikmans M, Gelderman KA, Laivuori H, Iversen AC, van der Hoorn MLP, Trouw LA. Circulating Levels of Anti-C1q and Anti-Factor H Autoantibodies and Their Targets in Normal Pregnancy and Preeclampsia. Front Immunol 2022; 13:842451. [PMID: 35432365 PMCID: PMC9009242 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.842451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Preeclampsia (PE) generally manifests in the second half of pregnancy with hypertension and proteinuria. The understanding of the origin and mechanism behind PE is incomplete, although there is clearly an immune component to this disorder. The placenta constitutes a complicated immune interface between fetal and maternal cells, where regulation and tolerance are key. Stress factors from placental dysfunction in PE are released to the maternal circulation evoking the maternal response. Several complement factors play a role within this intricate landscape, including C1q in vascular remodeling and Factor H (FH) as the key regulator of alternative pathway complement activation. We hypothesize that decreased levels of C1q or FH, or disturbance of their function by autoantibodies, may be associated with PE. Autoantibodies against C1q and FH and the concentrations of C1q and FH were measured by ELISA in maternal sera from women with preeclamptic and normal pregnancies. Samples originated from cohorts collected in the Netherlands (n=63 PE; n=174 control pregnancies, n=51 nonpregnant), Finland (n=181 PE; n=63 control pregnancies) and Norway (n=59 PE; n=27 control pregnancies). Serum C1q and FH concentrations were higher in control pregnancy than in nonpregnant women. No significant differences were observed for serum C1q between preeclamptic and control pregnancy in any of the three cohorts. Serum levels of FH were lower in preeclamptic pregnancies compared to control pregnancies in two of the cohorts, this effect was driven by the early onset PE cases. Neither anti-C1q autoantibodies nor anti-FH autoantibodies levels differed between women with PE and normal pregnancies. In conclusion, levels of anti-C1q and anti-FH autoantibodies are not increased in PE. C1q and FH are increased in pregnancy, but importantly, a decrease in FH concentration is associated with PE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douwe Jan Dijkstra
- Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands,*Correspondence: Douwe Jan Dijkstra, ; Leendert Adrianus Trouw,
| | - A. Inkeri Lokki
- Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland,Medical and Clinical Genetics, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Lobke Marijn Gierman
- Centre of Molecular Inflammation Research, Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | | | - Carin van der Keur
- Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Michael Eikmans
- Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Kyra Andrea Gelderman
- Department of Immunopathology and Haemostasis, Sanquin Diagnostic Services, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Hannele Laivuori
- Medical and Clinical Genetics, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland,Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tampere University Hospital and Tampere University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere Center for Child, Adolescent, and Maternal Health Research, Tampere, Finland
| | | | - Ann-Charlotte Iversen
- Centre of Molecular Inflammation Research, Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | | | - Leendert Adrianus Trouw
- Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands,*Correspondence: Douwe Jan Dijkstra, ; Leendert Adrianus Trouw,
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Circulating C1q levels in health and disease, more than just a biomarker. Mol Immunol 2021; 140:206-216. [PMID: 34735869 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2021.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Revised: 10/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
C1q is the recognition molecule of the classical pathway of the complement system. By binding to its targets, such as antigen-bound immunoglobulins or C-reactive protein, C1q contributes to the innate defense against infections. However, C1q also plays several other roles beyond its traditional role in complement activation. Circulating levels of C1q are determined in routine diagnostics as biomarker in several diseases. Decreased C1q levels are present in several autoimmune conditions. The decreased levels reflect the consumption of C1q by complement activation and serves as a biomarker for disease activity. In contrast, increased C1q levels are present in infectious and inflammatory diseases and may serve as a diagnostic biomarker. The increased levels of C1q are still incompletely understood but are suggested to modulate the adaptive immune response as C1q is known to impact on the maturation status of antigen-presenting cells and C1q impacts directly on T cells leading to decreased T-cell activity in high C1q conditions. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current literature on circulating levels of C1q in health and disease, and discuss how C1q can both protect against infections as well as maintain tolerance by regulating adaptive immunity.
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Ohmura K, Oku K, Kitaori T, Amengual O, Hisada R, Kanda M, Shimizu Y, Fujieda Y, Kato M, Bohgaki T, Horita T, Yasuda S, Sugiura-Ogasawara M, Atsumi T. Pathogenic roles of anti-C1q antibodies in recurrent pregnancy loss. Clin Immunol 2019; 203:37-44. [PMID: 30974291 DOI: 10.1016/j.clim.2019.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2018] [Revised: 04/07/2019] [Accepted: 04/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is often considered idiopathic, however excessive complement activation has been observed in pregnancy related manifestations. Anti-C1q antibodies (anti-C1q) are associated with the activation of complement pathway in lupus patients, while it remains unclear in RPL. Firstly, we showed that both the prevalence and titre of anti-C1q were significantly higher in unexplained RPL than in healthy parous individuals. Secondly, we established the murine model of anti-C1q induced pregnancy loss using a monoclonal anti-mouse C1q antibody, JL-1. In mice treated with JL-1, high ratio of pregnancy loss and fetal growth restriction were frequently observed and complement activation occurred. C5a receptor (C5aR) blockade cancelled these pathogenic changes in mice treated with JL-1. In conclusion, our study reveals an association between the prevalence of anti-C1q and RPL. Additionally, our murine model has indicated that anti-C1q can induce reproductive failure, which might be ameliorated by therapy targeting the C5-C5aR axis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazumasa Ohmura
- Department of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Kenji Oku
- Department of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
| | - Tamao Kitaori
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Olga Amengual
- Department of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Ryo Hisada
- Department of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Masatoshi Kanda
- Department of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Yuka Shimizu
- Department of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Yuichiro Fujieda
- Department of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Masaru Kato
- Department of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Toshiyuki Bohgaki
- Department of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Horita
- Department of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Shinsuke Yasuda
- Department of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Mayumi Sugiura-Ogasawara
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Tatsuya Atsumi
- Department of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
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