Antibodies to the constitutive 73-kd heat shock protein: a new marker of mixed connective tissue disease?
OBJECTIVE
This report documents the finding of an elevated titer of IgG reacting with the constitutive bovine 73-kd heat shock protein (HSP) in the serum of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD).


CONCLUSIONS
Further characterization of antibodies from patients with MCTD showed that the antibodies also recognize the human constitutive 73-kd HSP, but not the inducible 72-kd isoform. Very high levels of antibodies appeared to be specific for MCTD; the differences between levels in patients with MCTD and those in healthy subjects (blood donors) were highly significant (p < 10(-8)), with no values in this group of patients overlapping with those in the controls. This parameter might therefore represent a new diagnostic marker for this disease.
Mairesse
N
N
Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Biologie Humaine et Nucleaire, University of Brussels, Belgium.
Kahn
M F
MF
Appelboom
T
T
D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D008947:Mixed Connective Tissue Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D012016:Reference Values
D015415:Biomarkers; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D007074:Immunoglobulin G