Abstract
Emerging evidence suggests that there are IgM-autoantibodies that may play protective roles in SLE. While IgM are often considered polyreactive, we postulate that there are distinct sets of IgM-autoantibodies of defined autoreactive specificities relevant to different features of SLE. We examined the relationships between levels of IgM natural autoantibodies (NAbs) to apoptosis-associated phosphorylcholine (PC) or malondialdehyde (MDA) antigens, with lupus-associated autoantibodies and features of disease, in 120 SLE patients. IgM anti-PC was significantly higher in patients with low disease activity and less organ damage determined by the SELENA-SLEDAI, the physician's evaluation and the SLICC damage score. Furthermore, IgM anti-PC was significantly higher in patients without cardiovascular events. In contrast, IgM anti-cardiolipin and IgM anti-dsDNA were significantly higher in patients without renal disease. These results support the hypothesis that some IgM autoantibodies are part of a natural immune repertoire that provide homeostatic functions and protection from certain clinical lupus features.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 390-398 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Clinical Immunology |
Volume | 142 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2012 |
Keywords
- Cardiovascular disease
- IgM
- Natural antibodies
- Renal disease
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Immunology