The atypical form of the kidney disease hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is associated with defective complement regulation. In addition to mutations in complement regulators, factor H (FH)-specific autoantibodies have been reported for aHUS patients. The aim of the present study was to understand the role of these autoantibodies in aHUS. First, the binding sites of FH autoantibodies from 5 unr...

The autoantibodies found in human and murine systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are generally directed against cells or components of cells such as nuclear antigens. This predilection may be due to the unusual immunogenicity of certain autoantigens, or to unusual patterns of antibody crossreactivity. Alternatively, the observed spectrum of reactivities may reflect the in vivo absorption of thos...

Objectives. To characterize a novel anti-NKG2A autoantibody detected in a patient with SLE during a severe flare, and in a cross-sectional study investigate the occurrence of such autoantibodies in patients with SLE and primary SS (pSS). Methods. Serum or IgG from patients with SLE, pSS and healthy volunteers were assayed for blocking of anti-NKG2A or HLA-E binding to peripheral blood mononucle...

Autoantibodies to components of chromatin, which include double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), histones and nucleosomes, are central in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis. How anti-chromatin autoantibodies exert their nephritogenic activity, however, is controversial. One model assumes that autoantibodies initiate inflammation when they cross-react with intrinsic glomerular structures such as component...

Informatic methodologies are being applied successfully to analyze the complexity of the genome. But beyond the genome, the immune system reflects the state of the body in health and disease. Traditionally, immunologists have reduced the immune system, where possible, to one-to-one relationships between particular antigens and particular antibodies or T-cell clones. Autoimmune diseases, caused ...

Transformation of human peripheral blood lymphocytes with Epstein-Barr virus and rapid screening on rat insulinoma cells by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to identify monoclonal autoantibodies that reacted with human pancreatic islets. Six such monoclonal autoantibodies were isolated and cloned. All six also were found to react with human thyroid. It is concluded that lymphocyte...

Introduction To determine the clinical significance of anti-CCP (anticitrullinated cyclic peptide) in Korean patients with JRA. Rheumatoid Factor (RF) is a non-specific serologic test in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) but the anti-perinuclear autoantibodies are found in adult rheumatoid arthritis (RA) recently. One of these autoantibodies can detect epitopes called citrulline. The authors ...