Autoantibodies to DEK oncoprotein in human inflammatory disease.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the specificity of anti-DEK antibodies for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).


METHODS
Anti-DEK autoantibodies were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using affinity-purified his6-DEK fusion protein. Sera from 639 subjects (417 patients with systemic autoimmune disease, 13 with sarcoidosis, 44 with pulmonary tuberculosis, 125 with uveitis, and 6 with scleritis, and 34 healthy control subjects) were screened. Reactivity was verified by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation studies using baculovirus-expressed human DEK.


RESULTS
Anti-DEK activity was found at the following frequencies: JRA 39.4% (n = 71), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) 25.1% (n = 216), sarcoidosis 46.2% (n = 13), rheumatoid arthritis 15.5% (n = 71), systemic sclerosis 36.0% (n = 22), polymyositis 6.2% (n = 16), and adult Still's disease 0% (n = 21). Autoantibodies also were detected in 9.1% of tuberculosis sera (n = 44), but were undetectable in sera from the 34 healthy controls. Western blot and immunoprecipitation assay results correlated well with the ELISA findings. In general, levels of anti-DEK autoantibodies were higher in SLE than in other patient subsets, including JRA.


CONCLUSIONS
Anti-DEK autoantibodies are less specific for JRA than previously believed. They are produced in association with a variety of inflammatory conditions, many of which are associated with granuloma formation and/or predominant Thl cytokine production. Anti-DEK antibodies may be a marker for a subset of autoimmunity associated with interferon-gamma production rather than a particular disease subset.
Dong
X
X
Thurston Arthritis Research Center and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
Wang
J
J
Kabir
F N
FN
Shaw
M
M
Reed
A M
AM
Stein
L
L
Andrade
L E
LE
Trevisani
V F
VF
Miller
M L
ML
Fujii
T
T
Akizuki
M
M
Pachman
L M
LM
Satoh
M
M
Reeves
W H
WH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001171:Arthritis, Juvenile / Q000208:ethnology / Q000276:immunology*; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000208:ethnology / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D000075223:Poly-ADP-Ribose Binding Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000276:immunology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D016706:Still's Disease, Adult-Onset / Q000208:ethnology / Q000276:immunology; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000208:ethnology / Q000276:immunology; D014605:Uveitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology
D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; C084738:DEK protein, human; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D000075223:Poly-ADP-Ribose Binding Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins