The Relationship of Antibodies to Modified Citrullinated Vimentin and Markers of Bone and Cartilage Destruction in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective. To make individualised decisions regarding treatment is one of the most important challenges in clinical practise, and identification of sensitive and specific markers of prognosis is an important research question. The main objective of this study was to evaluate relationships between the level of autoantibodies, radiographic changes and laboratory markers of bone, and cartilage destruction. Methods. A total of 114 RA patients were examined. The serum concentration of IgM RF, antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP), modified citrullinated vimentin (anti-MCV), matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP-3), and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP, ng/mL) were measured. The van der Heijde-modified Sharp Score was used to quantify the radiologic changes. Results. Among the patients who were high-positive for anti-MCV, the value of total modified Sharp score (mTSS) (96.5; 66-120) was higher as well as the joint space narrowing (82; 60.5-105.5), and a higher level of MMP-3 was recorded more frequently (56%) in comparison with negative/low-positive patients (57; 31-88, 50; 29-82, 31% resp., P < 0.05). The level of COMP was also higher among patients high-positive for anti-MCV (9.7; 8.1-13.1 and 6.8; 5.4-10.7, resp., P = 0.02). Conclusion. A high positive level of anti-MCV as contrasted with anti-CCP and IgM RF is associated with more pronounced destructive changes in the joints.