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An Immunohistopathologic Study to Profile the Folate Receptor Beta Macrophage and Vascular Immune Microenvironment in Giant Cell Arteritis
Published on: February 8, 2019
Identification of two autoantigens recognised by circulating autoantibodies as potential biomarkers for diagnosing
Elisa Pesce1, Mauro Bombaci2, Stefania Croci3
1Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche e di Comunità, Dipartimento di Eccellenza 2023-2027, University of Milan, and Istituto Nazionale Genetica Molecolare, Milan, Italy.
Insights
Researchers identified two new autoantibodies, VSIG10L and DCBLD1, as potential biomarkers for diagnosing giant cell arteritis (GCA). These findings could lead to non-invasive diagnostic tools for this serious inflammatory condition.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Rheumatology
- Vascular Biology
Background:
- Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a prevalent vasculitis in individuals over 50, causing inflammation in large/medium vessels.
- Complications include vision loss, stroke, and aortic aneurysms, necessitating early diagnosis.
- Current diagnostic methods like temporal artery biopsy and ultrasound have limitations; existing biomarkers lack specificity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify novel serum autoantibodies as diagnostic biomarkers for GCA.
- To explore the potential of autoantibodies in improving GCA diagnosis beyond current methods.
Main Methods:
- Sera from GCA patients, Takayasu arteritis patients, and healthy controls were profiled using human protein arrays.
- Candidate autoantigens were purified and specific autoantibodies were quantified using ELISA.
Main Results:
- Autoantibodies against VSIG10L and DCBLD1 were identified and associated with GCA.
- These autoantibodies showed high specificity and a combined prevalence of 43-57% in GCA patients.
- Control groups (Takayasu arteritis, healthy controls) tested negative for these antibodies.
Conclusions:
- The identified GCA-specific autoantibodies may provide a new, non-invasive diagnostic tool.
- This research highlights the potential role of humoral immune responses in GCA pathogenesis.
- Further investigation into these autoantibodies could enhance diagnostic accuracy for GCA.
Objectives:
Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a common vasculitis affecting patients aged 50 and older. GCA leads to chronic inflammation of large/medium-sized vessel walls with complications such as permanent vision loss and risk of stroke and aortic aneurysms. Early diagnosis is crucial and relies on temporal artery biopsy (TAB) and ultrasound imaging of temporal and axillary arteries. However, these methods have limitations. Serum biomarkers as autoantibodies have been reported but with inconclusive data for their use in the clinical setting. Additionally, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate are non-specific and limited in reflecting disease activity, particularly in patients treated with IL-6 inhibitors. This study aimed to identify serum autoantibodies as new diagnostic biomarkers for GCA using a human protein array.
Methods:
One commercial and one proprietary human protein array were used for antibody profiling of sera from patients with GCA (n=55), Takayasu (TAK n=7), and Healthy Controls (HC n=28). The identified candidate autoantigens were purified and tested for specific autoantibodies by ELISA.
Results:
Antibodies against two proteins, VSIG10L (V-Set and Immunoglobulin Domain Containing 10 Like) and DCBLD1 (discoidin), were identified and found to be associated with GCA, with an overall prevalence of 43-57%, respectively, and high specificity as individual antibodies. A control series of TAK sera tested negative.
Conclusions:
Detecting GCA-specific autoantibodies may offer a new, non-invasive tool for improving our diagnostic power in GCA. Even though cell-mediated immune responses are crucial for GCA pathogenesis, this finding opens the way for investigating the additional role of humoral immune responses in the disease.
