title: The specificity of the anti-Proteus antibody response in tissue-typed rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients from Brest.
abstract: Anti-Proteus mirabilis antibody titres were found to be elevated in 50 active tissue-typed French rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients from Brest when compared to 49 healthy French controls using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA; P < 0.001) and indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA; P < 0.001). However, there was no significant elevation in antibody titres against Escherichia coli or Salmonella typhimurium in the RA patients compared to the controls when measured by ELISA. Serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) were also found to be significantly higher in RA patients when compared to healthy control subjects (P < 0.001). These results suggest that P. mirabilis may play an important and specific role in the triggering and persistence of RA.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000276:immunology*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D005602:France; D015804:HLA-DR4 Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011513:Proteus mirabilis / Q000276:immunology*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D015804:HLA-DR4 Antigen; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D002097:C-Reactive Protein