title: Lepromatous leprosy patients produce antibodies that recognise non-bilayer lipid arrangements containing mycolic acids.
abstract: Non-bilayer phospholipid arrangements are three-dimensional structures that form when anionic phospholipids with an intermediate structure of the tubular hexagonal phase II are present in a bilayer of lipids. Antibodies that recognise these arrangements have been described in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome and/or systemic lupus erythematosus and in those with preeclampsia; these antibodies have also been documented in an experimental murine model of lupus, in which they are associated with immunopathology. Here, we demonstrate the presence of antibodies against non-bilayer phospholipid arrangements containing mycolic acids in the sera of lepromatous leprosy (LL) patients, but not those of healthy volunteers. The presence of antibodies that recognise these non-bilayer lipid arrangements may contribute to the hypergammaglobulinaemia observed in LL patients. We also found IgM and IgG anti-cardiolipin antibodies in 77% of the patients. This positive correlation between the anti-mycolic-non-bilayer arrangements and anti-cardiolipin antibodies suggests that both types of antibodies are produced by a common mechanism, as was demonstrated in the experimental murine model of lupus, in which there was a correlation between the anti-non-bilayer phospholipid arrangements and anti-cardiolipin antibodies. Antibodies to non-bilayer lipid arrangements may represent a previously unrecognised pathogenic mechanism in LL and the detection of these antibodies may be a tool for the early diagnosis of LL patients.
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry Department , National School of Biological Sciences, National Polytechnic Institute, DF, Mexico. ibaeza@encb.ipn.mx
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Baeza
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wong-Baeza
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Valerdi
authors.forename: Jeanet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Serafin-Lopez
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ibáñez
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Estrada-Parra
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Estrada-Garcia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D015440:Leprosy, Lepromatous / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009171:Mycolic Acids / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001323:Autoantibodies; D006017:Glycolipids; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D009171:Mycolic Acids; C045169:phenolic glycolipid I, Mycobacterium leprae