title: Autoimmunity and filariasis. Autoantibodies against cytoplasmic cellular proteins in sera of patients with onchocerciasis.
abstract: Onchocerciasis or "river blindness" is a vector-borne tropical disease resulting from infection with the filarial nematode Onchocerca volvulus. Disease manifestations include dermatitis, rheumatic complaints, and blindness. Recent findings have suggested an autoimmune etiology for the occurrence of chorioretinopathy, a disease of the eye which together with sclerosing keratoconjunctivitis is responsible for approximately 400,000 onchocerciasis-related cases of blindness. The identification of onchocerciasis as an important cause of tropical rheumatism prompted us to evaluate serologically the presence of systemic autoimmune disease in onchocerciasis patients and local controls from a hyperendemic area in Sierra Leone. In both groups there was a marked autoimmune response against cytoplasmic non-RNA-associated proteins consisting of autoantibodies against five major Ag with respective m.w. of 35, 51, 64, 83, and 110 kDa. These five proteins are novel autoantigens that could be distinguished from calreticulin, the human homologue of the onchocercal Ag RAL-1, and known autoantigens such as the 50-kDa La/SS-B or 52- and 60-kDa Ro/SS-A proteins by immunoblotting and ELISA assays. Furthermore, autoantibody reactivity against calreticulin was significantly higher in O. volvulus-infected individuals than in endemic controls. Autoantibody reactivity against the five major autoantigens, anti-calreticulin reactivity, and antibody reactivity against the 65-kDa arthritis-associated mycobacterial heat shock protein were intercorrelated as parts of an onchocerciasis-associated autoimmune response. The implication of autoimmunity in the disease pathogenesis of onchocerciasis could have important consequences for future research on therapeutical regimens, pathogenetic mechanisms, and serological diagnosis of onchocerciasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Autoimmune Diseases, Central Laboratory of The Netherlands Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Meilof
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Van der Lelij
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Rokeach
authors.forename: S O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Hoch
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Smeenk
mesh_terms: D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000097:blood; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D001324:Autoantigens; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D037282:Calreticulin; D018834:Chaperonin 60; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000276:immunology*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000276:immunology; D009855:Onchocerciasis / Q000276:immunology*; D020733:RNA, Small Cytoplasmic; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins / Q000276:immunology; D000099207:SS-A Antigen
chemical_list: D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D037282:Calreticulin; D018834:Chaperonin 60; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D020733:RNA, Small Cytoplasmic; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins; D000099207:SS-A Antigen; C116006:RO60 protein, human