title: Induction of antiphospholipid antibodies by immunization with synthetic viral and bacterial peptides.
abstract: We previously induced pathogenic antibodies against anionic phospholipids (PL) in experimental animals by immunization with lipid-free purified human beta2glycoprotein I (beta2GPI). We hypothesized that antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are induced by in vivo binding of foreign beta2GPI to self-PL, thus forming an immunogenic complex against which aPL antibodies are produced. If this hypothesis is true, other PL-binding proteins that are products of ubiquitous viral/bacterial agents may also induce aPL. To test this hypothesis, groups of NIH/Swiss mice were immunized with synthetic peptides of viral and bacterial origin that share structural similarity with the putative PL-binding region of beta2GPI. Compared with the control groups, animals immunized with the peptides produced significantly higher levels of aPL and anti-beta2GPI antibodies. These findings demonstrate that some PL-binding viral and bacterial proteins function like beta2GPI in inducing aPL and anti-beta2GPI production, and are consistent with a role for such viral and bacterial proteins in inducing aPL antibody production in humans.
authors.affiliation: Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30310-1495, USA.
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Gharavi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chaimovich
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cucurull
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Celli
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Gharavi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017152:Antibodies, Antiphospholipid / Q000276:immunology*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D053482:beta 2-Glycoprotein I
chemical_list: D017152:Antibodies, Antiphospholipid; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D006023:Glycoproteins; D010455:Peptides; D053482:beta 2-Glycoprotein I