Antibodies to nuclear and smooth muscle antigens in multiple sclerosis and control patients

A comprehensive analysis of antigen-specific autoimmune liver disease related autoantibodies in patients with multiple sclerosis

Introduction

Abnormal liver function tests are frequently seen in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and their origin at times is attributed to the possible co-occurrence or the de novo induction of autoimmune liver diseases (AILD), namely autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), but comprehensive analysis of AILD-related autoantibody has not been carried out.

Aim

To assess the presence of AILD-related autoantibodies in a well-defined cohort of MS patients, and to assess their clinical significance.

Materials and methods

133 MS (93 female) patients (102 RRMS, 27 SPMS, and 5 PPMS), mean age 42.7 ± 11.9 SD years, mean duration of disease 11.2 ± 7.2 years were studied. 150 age and sex-matched healthy individuals were tested as normal controls (NCs).Autoantibody testing was performed by indirect immunofluorescence (IF) using triple tissue and HEp-2, a multiparametric line immunoassay detecting anti-LKM1(anti-CYP2D6), anti-LC1(anti-FTCD), soluble liver antigen/liver-pancreas(anti-SLA/LP), AMA-M2, and AMA-MIT3 (BPO), PBC-specific ANA (anti-gp210, anti-sp100 and anti-PML), and ELISA for anti-F-actin SMA and anti-dsDNA antibodies.

Results

Reactivity to at least one autoantibody was more frequent in MS patients compared to NCs (30/133, 22.6% vs 12/150, 8%) NCs (p = 0.00058). SMAs by IIF were more frequent in MS patients (18/133, 13.53%) compared to NCs (6/150, 4%, p = 0.002%). The AIH-1 related anti-F-actin SMA by ELISA were present in 21 (15.8%), at relatively low titres (all but three of the SMA-VG pattern by IF); anti-dsDNA in 3 (2.3%), and anti-SLA/LP in none; AIH-2 anti-LKM1 autoantibodies in 1 (0.8%, negative by IF), and anti-LC1 in none; PBC-specific AMA-M2 in 2 (1.5%, both negative for AMA-MIT3 and AMA by IF) and PBC-specific ANA anti-PML in 6 (4.5%), anti-sp100 in 1 (0.8%) and anti-gp210 in 1 (0.8%). Amongst the 30 MS patients with at least one autoantibody positivity, only 4 (3%) had overt AILD (2 AIH-1 and 2 PBC). Autoantibody positivity did not differ between naïve MS patients and patients under treatment.

Conclusions

Despite the relatively frequent presence of liver autoantibodies, tested either by IF or molecular assays, overt AILD is rather infrequent discouraging autoantibody screening strategies of MS patients in the absence of clinical suspicion.

Autoimmune disease in people with multiple sclerosis and their relatives: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Additional autoimmune diseases in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and their relatives have been studied many times. Studies have employed different designs, and yielded conflicting results. We performed a systematic review, and calculated overall risk of additional autoimmune diseases in people with MS and their first-degree relatives. PubMed and Web of Science were searched. Thyroid disease, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were studied. A generic inverse variance model was used, and subgroup analysis was used to explore heterogeneity. The OR of thyroid disease was increased in both people with MS (OR 1.66; p < 0.00001) and their relatives (OR 2.38; p < 0.00001). A similar association was seen between MS and inflammatory bowel disease (OR 1.56; p < 0.0001) and psoriasis (OR 1.31; p < 0.0001), although not in relatives. There was no increase in the rate of either SLE or RA. Studies examining diabetes showed significant heterogeneity and evidence of publication bias. There is an increase in the rate of certain autoimmune diseases in people with MS and their first-degree relatives. However, this does not extend to all conditions studied. Given the nonspecific clinical presentation of thyroid disease, it should be considered in all people with MS presenting with nonspecific symptoms.

Autoantibodies in multiple sclerosis patients before and during IFN-beta 1b treatment: are they correlated with the occurrence of autoimmune diseases?

Autoimmune side effects, namely autoantibody (autoAb) occurrence and thyroid function alteration, have been described during interferon-beta (IFN-beta) treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). AutoAb occurrence and autoimmune thyroid diseases are also frequently detected in MS patients free of any treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between IFN-beta 1b treatment, autoAb occurrence, and autoimmune diseases in MS. Thyroid and liver function and serum autoAb (antithyroid, antinuclear, anti-liver, anti-kidney microsomes, anti-smooth muscle and parietal cell antigens) occurrence were evaluated in 156 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients before and every 3 months after starting IFN-beta 1b treatment (8 MIU subcutaneously [s.c.] on alternate days). The probability of having liver or thyroid function alteration or autoAb occurrence was analyzed longitudinally with the generalized estimating equations (GEE) approach. At baseline, 16.1% of patients had autoAb. During treatment, autoAb occurred de novo in 7.2% of patients. GEE analysis showed that the probability of having autoAb at any time during IFN-beta 1b treatment did not change significantly compared with baseline. AutoAb occurring de novo rarely persisted during treatment and significantly less than those already present at baseline. Positivity for autoAb at baseline or during treatment was not correlated with the development of thyroid or liver function alteration during IFN-beta 1b treatment. Our study indicates that IFN-beta treatment is a safe treatment for MS patients, free of risk of autoimmunity and of associated liver or thyroid function alteration.

Early synthesis and correlation of serum anti-thyroid antibodies with clinical parameters in multiple sclerosis

A high frequency of anti-thyroid antibodies has been demonstrated in multiple sclerosis (MS), but there is a lack of data on the possible association of thyroid autoimmunity with disease activity. To assess whether anti-thyroid antibodies are synthesized early in MS or are induced over the course of the disease and whether or not they are correlated with clinical findings, we assayed serum anti-peroxidase and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies in 129 relapsing-remitting MS patients at the time of diagnosis and prior to any immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory treatment. Anti-peroxidase antibodies were detected in 28/129 (21.7%) MS patients, compared to 12/130 (9.2%) neurological controls (P=0.006) and 8/152 (5.3%) normal healthy subjects (P<0.0001). High titres of anti-thyroglobulin antibodies were detected in 11/129 (8.5%) MS patients compared to 6/130 (4.6%) patients with other neurological diseases (P=0.22) and 5/152 (3.3%) normal healthy subjects (P=0.07). Anti-peroxidase antibodies were associated with initial relapse in 14 of 28 (50%) of the patients compared to 18/101 (18%) without antibodies (P=0.001). Similarly, anti-thyroglobulin antibodies were associated with first relapse in 8/11 (73%) of the patients compared to 11/118 (9.3%) of those without (P<0.0001). However, there was no correlation between anti-thyroid antibody titres and disease duration or CSF IgG index values. By contrast, a significant inverse correlation was found between anti-thyroglobulin antibody titres and EDSS score (r(s)=-0. 75; P=0.008). Our findings demonstrate that anti-peroxidase and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies are synthesized early in relapsing-remitting MS and are associated with early clinical disease activity. Furthermore, high titres of anti-thyroglobulin antibodies are associated with low disability scores, suggesting a possible protective role of these antibodies that deserves further investigation.

Autoimmunity in multiple sclerosis: study of a wide spectrum of autoantibodies

The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of organ- and nonorgan-specific autoantibodies in MS patients and evaluate whether the presence of autoantibodies is an indicator of disease activity and/or a prognosis factor. One hundred and five definite MS patients in different stages and with different course and 75 blood donors were tested for the autoantibodies TgA, TMA/TPO-A, PCA, ANA, aCl, SMA, AMA and ANCA. All patients were screened for the LAC. Autoantibodies to at least one autoantigen were found in 66.6% MS patients and in 13.3% controls (P < 0.001). The frequency of TgA, TMA/TPO-A, ANA, aCl and SMA was statistically higher in patients than in controls. Circulating ANCAs were found in seven MS, a never reported finding. An early onset of MS (< 20 years) was associated with a lower autoantibody frequency (P < 0.01) Primary and secondary progressive MS had a higher antibody frequency than relapsing-remitting (P < 0.05) or benign (P < 0.001) MS. Up to 86% of patients were autoantibody-positive during the acute stage, but only 30% of them remained positive during the remission stage (P < 0.001). A generalised immune dysregulation occurs in MS patients, mostly during the acute stages and in the progressive courses, involving activation of both autoreactive Th1-cells (mainly linked to CNS lesions) and B-cells via Th2 cells.

Multiple sclerosis and other immunologic diseases

A characteristic feature of immunologic diseases is their association with each other. For multiple sclerosis (MS), several retrospective studies reported increased as well as expected coincidence rates with other immunologic diseases. We conducted a prospective case-control study of MS patients and healthy volunteers and found 13/101 MS patients and 2/97 controls with such diseases (P = 0.009, chi-square test), as well as 47/88 MS patients versus 31/95 controls with a variety of circulating autoantibodies (P = 0.004, chi-square test). These results speak for an increased coincidence of MS with other immunologic diseases and support the idea that MS is also an immunologic disease.

Abnormalities of serum and plasma components in patients with multiple sclerosis

Qualitative and quantitative abnormalities in protein and non-protein components of serum and plasma in patients with multiple sclerosis have been the subjects of numerous reports. In this review many of the more recent observations are documented and evaluated. It is concluded that at present the welter of information that has been gathered does not contribute in any major, coherent way to our understanding of the etiology or pathogenesis of the disorder. Several of the abnormalities that have been observed may be future candidates for biochemical markers for multiple sclerosis; at present none is sufficiently reliable, distinctive or easily performed to warrant the status of a useful diagnostic or prognostic test.