Novel autoimmune hepatitis-specific autoantigens identified using protein microarray technology.
Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic necroinflammatory disease of the liver with a poorly understood etiology. Detection of nonorgan-specific and liver-related autoantibodies using immunoserological approaches has been widely used for diagnosis and prognosis. However, unambiguous and accurate detection of the disease requires the identification and characterization of disease-specific autoantigens. In the present study, we have profiled the autoantigen repertoire of patients with AIH versus those with other liver diseases, identifying and validating three novel and highly specific biomarkers for AIH. In phase I, we fabricated a human protein chip of 5011 nonredundant proteins and used it to quickly identify 11 candidate autoantigens with relative small serum collection. In phase II, we fabricated an AIH-specific protein chip and obtained autoimmunogenic profiles of serum samples from 44 AIH patients, 50 healthy controls, and 184 additional patients suffering from hepatitis B, hepatitis C, systemic lupus erythematosus, primary Sjogren's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, or primary biliary cirrhosis. With this two-phase approach, we identified three new antigens, RPS20, Alba-like, and dUTPase, as highly AIH-specific biomarkers, with sensitivities of 47.5% (RPS20), 45.5% (Alba-like), and 22.7% (dUTPase). These potential biomarkers were further validated with additional AIH samples in a double-blind design. Finally, we demonstrated that these new biomarkers could be readily applied to ELISA-based assays for use in clinical diagnosis/prognosis.
Song
Qifeng
Q
Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101318, China.
Liu
Guozhen
G
Hu
Shaohui
S
Zhang
Yan
Y
Tao
Yong
Y
Han
Yuning
Y
Zeng
Haipan
H
Huang
Wei
W
Li
Fang
F
Chen
Peng
P
Zhu
Jianhui
J
Hu
Chaojun
C
Zhang
Shulan
S
Li
Yongzhe
Y
Zhu
Heng
H
Wu
Lin
L
D000465:Algorithms; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000737:chemistry; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004867:Equipment Design; D019693:Hepatitis, Autoimmune / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D016015:Logistic Models; D040081:Protein Array Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
D001324:Autoantigens; D015415:Biomarkers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D011506:Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins