title: Detection of the novel autoantibody (anti-UACA antibody) in patients with Graves' disease.
abstract: Uveal autoantigen with coiled coil domains and ankyrin repeats (UACA) is an autoantigen in patients with panuveitis such as Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease. The prevalence of IgG anti-UACA antibodies in patients with uveitis is significantly higher than healthy controls, suggesting its potential role as an autoantigen. Originally, UACA was cloned from dog thyroid tissue following TSH stimulation. So, we presumed UACA could be a novel autoantigen in autoimmune thyroid diseases. We measured serum anti-UACA antibody titer using ELISA in patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases (Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, subacute thyroiditis, and silent thyroiditis). The prevalence of anti-UACA antibodies in Graves' disease group was significantly higher than that in healthy group (15% vs. 0%). Moreover, the prevalence of anti-UACA antibodies in Graves' ophthalmopathy was significantly higher than that in Graves' patients without ophthalmopathy (29% vs. 11%). Especially, 75% of severe ocular myopathy cases showed high UACA titer. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that UACA protein is expressed in eye muscles as well as human thyroid follicular cells. Taken together, UACA is a novel candidate for eye muscle autoantigens in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Department of Multidisciplinary Internal Medicine, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Yonago 683-8504, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohkura
authors.forename: Shin-ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nishio
authors.forename: Tomohisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kamijou
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukata
authors.forename: Kanji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuma
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hisatome
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Senju
authors.forename: Yasuharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: Chiaki
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shigemasa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005123:Eye / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C422446:UACA antigen