Autoantibodies in HIV-infected patients: Cross site-specific hydrolysis of H1 histone and myelin basic protein

Histones act as damage-associated molecules, while anti-DNA antibodies are directed against histone-DNA nucleosomal complexes. Myelin basic protein (MBP) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis. Autoantibodies (Abs) with enzymatic activities are the distinctive feature of some autoimmune and viral diseases. Abzymes with proteolytic activity against different proteins specifically hydrolyze only these specific proteins. Using chromatography of IgGs on columns with immobilized H1 histone and then by chromatography of the fraction having an affinity for the histone (eluted upon loading) on MBP Sepharose, the anti-MBP antibodies were obtained. Anti-H1 antibodies were obtained using these columns in reverse order. IgGs against H1 and MBP effectively hydrolyze both H1 histone and MBP but no other control proteins. Using the MALDI mass spectrometry, the cleavage sites of H1 histone and MBP by abzymes against these proteins are found. The hydrolysis of MBP by anti-MBP IgGs occurs at four clusters (22 sites of the hydrolysis) locating at four known antigenic determinants of MBP. Anti-H1 Abs hydrolyze MBP only at one cluster (11 sites of the hydrolysis); this cluster is only partially overlapped with one of the four MBP clusters. Anti-H1 antibodies hydrolyze H1 at five sites of one cluster of the protein when anti-MBP IgGs cleavage this histone at two clusters containing 17 sites of the cleavage. Anti-H1 and anti-MBP abzymes are the first examples of Abs possessing not only with cross-complexing but also with catalytic cross-reactivity. The existence of cross-reactivity of abzymes against histones and MBP represent great danger to humans. © 2018 BioFactors, 45(2):211-222, 2019.