title: Galactosylation of IgG from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients--changes during therapy.
abstract: It is well documented that serum IgG from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients exhibits decreased galactosylation of its conservative N-glycans (Asn-297) in CH2 domains of the heavy chains; it has been shown that this agalactosylation is proportional to disease severity. In the present investigation we analyzed galactosylation of IgG derived from the patients using a modified ELISA-plate test, biosensor BIAcore and total sugar analysis (GC-MS). For ELISA and BIAcore the binding of IgG preparations, purified from the patients' sera, to two lectins: Ricinus communis (RCA-I) and Griffonia simplicifolia (GSL-II) was applied. Based on ELISA-plate test an agalactosylation factor (AF, a relative ratio of GSL-II/RCA-I binding) was calculated, which was proportional to actual disease severity. Repeated testing of several patients before and after treatment with methotrexate (MTX) alone or in combination with Remicade (a chimeric antibody anti-TNF-alpha) supplied results indicating an increase of IgG galactosylation during the treatment. This introductory observation suggests that IgG galactosylation may be an additional indicator of the RA patients' improvement.
authors.affiliation: Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology & Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, R. Weigla 12, 53-114, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pasek
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Duk
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Podbielska
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sokolik
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Szechiński
authors.forename: Elwira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lisowska
authors.forename: Hubert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Krotkiewski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005690:Galactose / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry; D000069285:Infliximab; D037102:Lectins; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008875:Middle Aged; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000379:methods; D006023:Glycoproteins
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D005690:Galactose; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D000069285:Infliximab; D037102:Lectins; D008727:Methotrexate; C046179:glycosylated IgG; D006023:Glycoproteins