Antibodies to type II collagen in early rheumatoid arthritis.
Antibodies to native and denatured type II collagen were investigated in a group of 79 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) of disease duration less than 12 months (median 8 months; range 3-12 months). Using a solid-phase ELISA to measure these antibodies, the incidence of patients with levels above the upper limit of normal (mean of normal plus 3 SD) was low as compared to previous findings in patients with established disease. The majority of positive sera contained small amounts of IgM antibodies to denatured type II collagen whilst a few had IgG antibodies to native and denatured type II collagen. These findings suggest that the production of high levels of serum anti-type II collagen antibodies in patients with RA is a secondary phenomenon, which may exacerbate the disease rather than be a primary cause of disease.
Morgan
K
K
Department of Rheumatology, University of Manchester Medical School.
Clague
R B
RB
Reynolds
I
I
Davis
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000276:immunology*; D003094:Collagen / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values
D000906:Antibodies; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D003094:Collagen