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Hoa S, Hudson M, Troyanov Y, Proudman S, Walker J, Stevens W, Nikpour M, Assassi S, Mayes M, Wang M, Baron M, Fritzler M. Single-specificity anti-Ku antibodies in an international cohort of 2140 systemic sclerosis subjects: clinical associations. Medicine (Baltimore) 2016; 95:e4713. [PMID: 27583908 PMCID: PMC5008592 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000004713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Autoantibodies directed against the Ku autoantigen are present in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and have been associated with myositis overlap and interstitial lung disease (ILD). However, there is a paucity of data on the clinical correlates of anti-Ku antibodies in the absence of other SSc-specific antibodies. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical correlates of single-specificity anti-Ku in SSc.An international (Canada, Australia, USA, Mexico) cohort of 2140 SSc subjects was formed, demographic and clinical variables were harmonized, and sera were tested for anti-Ku using a line immunoassay. Associations between single-specificity anti-Ku antibodies (i.e., in isolation of other SSc-specific antibodies) and outcomes of interest, including myositis, ILD, and survival, were investigated.Twenty-four (1.1%) subjects had antibodies against Ku, and 13 (0.6%) had single-specificity anti-Ku antibodies. Subjects with single-specificity anti-Ku antibodies were more likely to have ILD (58% vs 34%), and to have increased creatine kinase levels (>3× normal) at baseline (11% vs 1%) and during follow-up (10% vs 2%). No difference in survival was noted in subjects with and without single-specificity anti-Ku antibodies.This is the largest cohort to date focusing on the prevalence and disease characteristics of single-specificity anti-Ku antibodies in subjects with SSc. These results need to be interpreted with caution in light of the small sample. International collaboration is key to understanding the clinical correlates of uncommon serological profiles in SSc.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. Hoa
- Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - M. Hudson
- Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Division of Rheumatology, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Correspondence: Dr Marie Hudson, Jewish General Hospital, Room A-725, 3755 Côte Sainte-Catherine Road, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1E2, Canada (e-mail: )
| | - Y. Troyanov
- Division of Rheumatology, Hopital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - S. Proudman
- Rheumatology Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia
- Discipline of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Bedford Park, Australia
| | - J. Walker
- Department of Allergy and Immunology, Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, Australia
| | - W. Stevens
- Department of Rheumatology, St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
| | - M. Nikpour
- Department of Rheumatology, St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne at St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - S. Assassi
- Division of Rheumatology and Immunogenetics, University of Texas Health Science Centre at Houston, Houston, TX
| | - M.D. Mayes
- Division of Rheumatology and Immunogenetics, University of Texas Health Science Centre at Houston, Houston, TX
| | - M. Wang
- Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - M. Baron
- Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Division of Rheumatology, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - M.J. Fritzler
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Guarneri F, Guarneri C. Molecular mimicry in cutaneous autoimmune diseases. World J Dermatol 2013; 2:36-43. [DOI: 10.5314/wjd.v2.i4.36] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2013] [Accepted: 09/17/2013] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The emulation of characteristics of a different organism to gain biological advantage is a common phenomenon in nature, described and defined with the term “mimicry” in the second half of the 19th century. In the last decades, mimicry at molecular level has been evidenced as a method used by several pathogen microrganisms to control metabolic functions of infected cells and elude host’s immune system. Because of molecular mimicry, immune reactions against microbial molecules can turn against the mimicked self-molecules in predisposed subjects, leading to autoimmunity. This pathogenic mechanism, which gives a possible explanation for the specific epidemiological and chronological association between some infections and some autoimmune diseases, is well known and verified in many fields of medicine, but not adequately studied in dermatology: experimental data are available only for leprosy, atopic dermatitis, Behçet’s disease, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome and systemic erythematous lupus, while for few other diseases its role is hypothetical or suggested on the basis of single, small experiments or anecdotal reports. An overview of available data and hypotheses about the role of molecular mimicry in autoimmune cutaneous diseases is presented here, together with the perspectives offered by the use of bioinformatics and the personal experience of the author in this field.
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Pathak S, Hatam LJ, Bonagura V, Vambutas A. Innate immune recognition of molds and homology to the inner ear protein, cochlin, in patients with autoimmune inner ear disease. J Clin Immunol 2013; 33:1204-15. [PMID: 23912888 DOI: 10.1007/s10875-013-9926-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2013] [Accepted: 07/09/2013] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease (AIED) is characterized by bilateral, fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss with periods of hearing decline triggered by unknown stimuli. Here we examined whether an environmental exposure to mold in these AIED patients is sufficient to generate a pro-inflammatory response that may, in part, explain periods of acute exacerbation of disease. We hypothesized that molds may stimulate an aberrant immune response in these patients as both several Aspergillus species and penecillium share homology with the LCCL domain of the inner ear protein, cochlin. We showed the presence of higher levels of anti-mold IgG in plasma of AIED patients at dilution of 1:256 (p = 0.032) and anti-cochlin IgG 1:256 (p = 0.0094 and at 1:512 p = 0.024) as compared with controls. Exposure of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of AIED patients to mold resulted in an up-regulation of IL-1β mRNA expression, enhanced IL-1β and IL-6 secretion, and generation of IL-17 expressing cells in mold-sensitive AIED patients, suggesting mold acts as a PAMP in a subset of these patients. Naïve B cells secreted IgM when stimulated with conditioned supernatant from AIED patients' monocytes treated with mold extract. In conclusion, the present studies indicate that fungal exposure can trigger autoimmunity in a subset of susceptible AIED patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shresh Pathak
- The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
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