title: Human neutrophil activating peptide/interleukin 8 acts as an autoantigen in rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Human neutrophil activating peptide/interleukin 8 (NAP-1/IL-8) has been shown to activate neutrophils to degranulate in vitro and to be a potent chemotactic agonist for neutrophils and lymphocytes in vitro and in vivo. It may therefore be a mediator of inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Levels of NAP-1/IL-8 were low or undetectable in serum samples from 53 patients with RA. Circulating levels of antibodies to NAP-1/IL-8 showed a strong correlation with the level of quantified C reactive protein and with the number of arthritic joints. These autoantibodies, in a similar manner to quantified C reactive protein, correlated with disease activity and are associated with a lack of clinical improvement when the patient is treated with systemic steroids. This observation indicates an important role for interleukin 8 and its autoantibodies in the inflammatory processes of RA, and may provide a clinically useful marker for the diagnosis of disease severity.
authors.affiliation: Sandoz Forschungsinstitut, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Peichl
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ceska
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Broell
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Effenberger
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Lindley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D016209:Interleukin-8; D002097:C-Reactive Protein