title: BAFF-ling autoantibodies.
abstract: There is emerging evidence that autoantibodies directed against cytokines modulate the severity of autoimmune disease. Identification of cytokine-targeted autoantibodies in patients can be informative for diagnosis and predicting clinical outcome. In this issue of the JCI, Price and colleagues used a multiplex protein microarray to identify autoantibodies in serum from SLE patients. They found autoantibodies directed against the B cell-activating factor (BAFF) were associated with greater disease severity. This study highlights the contribution of cytokine-directed autoantibodies in disease and describes a valuable tool for identifying autoantibodies against serum antigens.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sarantopoulos
authors.forename: Maureen A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology*; D053264:B-Cell Activating Factor / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology*; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000276:immunology*; D040081:Protein Array Analysis
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens; D053264:B-Cell Activating Factor; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; C505719:TNFSF13B protein, human