The rapid screening of tumor markers is a challenging task for early diagnosis of cancer. This study aims to use highly sensitive chemiluminescent protein microarray technology to efficiently screen a variety of low abundance tumor related markers. A new material, termed integrated polydimethylsiloxane modified silica gel (iPDMS), was obtained by adding a surface polymerization initiator with olefin end to the conventional polydimethylsiloxane, and fixing into the three-dimensional structure of polydimethylsiloxane by thermal crosslinking through silicon hydrogen bonding. In order to make the iPDMS material resistant to non-specific protein adsorption, a poly(OEGMA) polymer brush was synthesized by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization at the active initiation site. Finally, 20 tumor-related antigens were printed into the specific areas of the microarray by high-throughput spray printing technology, and assembled into 48-well detection microtiterplates of the iPDMS microarray. It was found the VEGFR and VEGF121 autoantibodies that obtained from 8 common tumors (breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, leukemia, lymphoma and ovarian cancer) can be used as potential tumor markers. The chemiluminescence labeled iPDMS protein microarray can be used for the screening of tumor autoantibodies at early stage.
Adsorption ; Autoantibodies ; Dimethylpolysiloxanes ; Protein Array Analysis ; Silica Gel ; Surface Properties

We selected 12 antigens corresponding to commonly used autoantibodies in clinical practice to prepare antigen microarray. We chose NBT/BCIP color reaction as the end detection strategy to develop a new autoantibody protein chip detection system. Using this system, we optimized the best spotting solution, spotting concentration of the 12 antigens and the dilution of serum. We prepared a protein chip that could detect 12 autoantibodies simultaneously using the optimized antigen concentration. We established a new method to determine the cutoff of each autoantibodies by evaluation of 678 positive and 120 negative serum of clinical sample. We also evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of our new detection system. The optimal spotting solution was 0.1% TBST, the dilution of serum was 1:4 and the best spotting concentration of the 12 antigens were ANA 520 microg/mL, Ro-60/SSa 465 microg/mL, La/SSb 530 microg/mL, Jo-1 530 microg/mL, Scl-70 525 microg/mL, Sm 520 microg/mL, Ro-52/SSa 615 microg/mL, RF 340 microg/mL, CCP 465 microg/mL, ulRNP 410 microg/mL, CENP-B 490 microg/mL and dsDNA 580 microg/mL respectively. It had higher coincidence rate compared to current clinical used methods. We have developed a 12 antigens protein chip for the detection of autoantibodies based on the NBT/BCIP color reaction system. This system was fast, convenient, efficient, and cost-effective.
Autoantibodies ; blood ; immunology ; Autoimmune Diseases ; blood ; immunology ; Humans ; Protein Array Analysis ; instrumentation ; methods ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has a higher risk of death within 5 years of being diagnosed than the other forms of breast cancer. It is the second leading cause of death due to cancer among women. Currently, however, no diagnostic blood-based biomarker exists to identify the early stages of TNBC. To address this point, we utilized a human protein microarray system to identify serum autoantibodies that showed different expression patterns between TNBC and normal serum samples, and identified five autoantibodies showing TNBC-specific expression. Among them, we selected the thioredoxin-like 2 (TXNL2) autoantibody and evaluated its diagnostic relevance by dot blot analysis with the recombinant TXNL2 protein. We demonstrated that the TXNL2 autoantibody showed 2- to 6-fold higher expression in TNBC samples than in normal samples suggesting that serum TXNL2 autoantibodies are potential biomarkers for TNBC.
Autoantibodies ; Biomarkers ; Breast Neoplasms ; Cause of Death ; Female ; Humans ; Protein Array Analysis ; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms*

To evaluate the data obtained from the external quality assurance program initiated by Chinese Rheumatism Data Center (CRDC-QAP) for autoantibodies detection in 2021, so as to assess the consensus and differences in cross-laboratory testing to autoantibodies in China. This is a retrospective study. After collecting data from the first half year (from May 15th to July 10th) and the second half year (from August 15th to November 19th) of CRDC-QAP program for autoantibody detection in 2021, it firstly analyzed the qualitative consensus of the cross-laboratory results. Secondly, it compared the positivity grade of numeric results according to the Sample to cut-off ratio (S/CO ratio) calculation. Finally, the mean and coefficient variation (CV) of numeric results from three major manufacturers were calculated. A total of 303 and 332 clinical labs voluntarily participated in the first half year and the second half year of CRDC-QAP program for autoantibody detection in 2021, respectively. Except for anti-β2 glycoprotein type I (aβ2-GPI) IgM, the cross-laboratory consensus of qualitative results for the other autoantibodies is greater than 96%. As for anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (anti-CCP) and anti mitochondrial antibody-M2 (AMA-M2), the numeric results from more than 90% laboratories showed the same positivity grade. More than 50% of laboratories used chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) for quantitative evaluation of autoantibody. The CV of numeric results from different manufacturers showed certain differences(P<0.01) with the range from 0 to 238%. Although high consensus can be observed in term of qualitative result for autoantibody detection in cross-laboratory, there are still certain differences in numeric results in term of positivity grade and manufacturer-based CV.
Humans ; Autoantibodies ; Antibodies, Anticardiolipin/analysis* ; Retrospective Studies ; East Asian People ; beta 2-Glycoprotein I ; Rheumatic Diseases

A 45-year-old woman with epidermolysis bullosa aquisita is presented. The clinical, histological, and immunopathological features were in keeping with the previous reports of this disease. The patient also had anti-basal cell cytoplasmic antibodies at a significant titer, which is considered an unusual finding associated with this disorder. Treatment with a moderate dose of corticosteroid was effective in controlling the bullous lesions
Autoantibodies/*analysis ; Complement C3/analysis ; Cytoplasm/*immunology ; Epidermis/*immunology ; Epidermolysis Bullosa Acquisita/diagnosis/*immunology ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged

Immunoglobulin A (IgA) vasculitis is the most common leukocytoclastic small-vessel vasculitis in children and mainly involves the small vessels in the skin, joints, digestive tract, and kidneys. Its pathogenesis is still unclear. Currently, it is believed that environmental factors can cause autoimmune dysfunction and lead to the deposition of IgA-containing immune complexes on the wall of arterioles on the basis of genetic factors. This article reviews the research advances in the role of immune factors in the pathogenesis of IgA vasculitis.
Autoantibodies ; analysis ; Complement System Proteins ; physiology ; Cytokines ; physiology ; Glycosylation ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A ; analysis ; Immunoglobulin E ; metabolism ; Vasculitis ; etiology ; immunology

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Exclusion of liver disease from other causes such as autoimmune hepatitis is necessary for diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, there has been no study on the prevalence and significance of autoantibodies in the patients with clinically suspected NAFLD in Korea, where hepatitis B is endemic and autoimmune hepatitis is relatively uncommon. METHODS: We prospectively tested for anti-nuclear antibody (ANA), anti-smooth muscle antibody (ASMA), and anti-mitochondrial antibody (AMA) in 135 serially enrolled patients with suspected NAFLD. We compared the clinical characteristics and biochemical indices of the ANA-positive or ASMA-positive group with those of the autoantibody-negative group. RESULTS: Sixteen patients (11.8%) had serum autoantibodies; there was ANA in 8 patients (5.9%), ASMA in 7 (5.1%), and AMA in 2 (1.5%). Both ANA and AMA were positive in one patient. The ANA-positive or ASMA-positive group showed an older age (49.5+/-13.0 vs. 42.0+/-10.9 years, respectively, P=0.018) and higher levels of serum globulin (3.1+/-0.4 vs. 2.9+/-0.4 g/dL, respectively, P=0.037), compared with the autoantibody-negative group. Two cases with positive ANA or ASMA fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for probable autoimmune hepatitis and two cases with positive AMA were suspected as primary biliary cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that autoantibodies could be found in some patients with suspected NAFLD in Korea, AMA-positivity or ASMA-positivity could be associated with old age and high serum globulin, and some of the autoantibody-positive cases could be diagnosed as autoimmune hepatitis or primary biliary cirrhosis. Further studies are necessary to clarify the clinical significance of autoantibody positivity in those patients.
Adult ; Aged ; Antibodies, Antinuclear/analysis ; Autoantibodies/*blood ; English Abstract ; Fatty Liver/*immunology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Muscle, Smooth/immunology

PURPOSE: Chronic urticaria (CU) has a substantial impact on the quality of life. Little clinical data on the prognosis of CU has been reported. This study aimed to investigate the control status and remission rate of CU and to explore potential predictors of good responses to the treatment during a 6-month treatment period. METHODS: A total of 75 patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) were enrolled from 3 university hospitals in Korea. Urticaria control state was classified into 2 groups: group I (remission and well-controlled) and group II (partly and uncontrolled). CU-specific quality of life (CU-QoL) and the urticaria activity score (UAS) were measured before and after the treatment. Autologous serum skin test (ASST), and anti-nuclear and anti-thyroid antibodies were measured at the enrollment into the study. Aspirin intolerance was confirmed by an oral provocation test. RESULTS: Of 59 patients completing the study, 21 (35.6%) arrived at well-controlled status and only 2 (3.4%) achieved remission, whereas 26 (44.1%) remained at partly controlled status and 10 (16.9%) were at uncontrolled status. Mean changes in CU-QoL (36.5+/-2.7 vs 20.6+/-4.3, P=0.017) and UAS (-7.9+/-0.8 vs -3.0+/-1.0, P=0.001) were significantly different between groups I and II. The presence of serum autoantibodies and aspirin intolerance had no influence on the control of urticaria in this study. However, ASST positivity was identified as a significant predictor of CU control in multivariate analysis (OR=6.106, P=0.017). CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of CSU patients that achieved remission or a well-controlled state was 39% for the 6 months of stepwise treatment. Longer observations are necessary to assess the exact prognosis of CSU. ASST results may be a useful parameter for predicting a better response to treatment and both UAS and CU-QoL are helpful to monitor therapeutic response.
Antibodies ; Aspirin ; Autoantibodies ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Korea ; Multivariate Analysis ; Observational Study* ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies* ; Quality of Life ; Skin Tests ; Urticaria*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) is a form of thyroiditis associated with autoimmune antibodies. Few studies have measured thyroid volume in Asians. This study was undertaken to determine the distribution of thyroid volume and to explore possible correlations between thyroid volume and other factors in a Korean cohort. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred eleven patients who underwent (99m)Tc-pertechnetate thyroid scintigraphy between 2009 and 2011 were recruited and their thyroid volume was measured. AIT was defined as having thyroperoxidase antibody (TPOAb) and/or thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) positivity and TRAb negativity, regardless of thyroid function. RESULTS: The mean thyroid volume was 32.1 mL in AIT patients. The distribution of thyroid volume was normal after log transformation. Thyroid volume was larger in patients with both autoantibodies than in patients with only one antibody (p<0.001). The first quartile of patients grouped according to thyroid volume were older (52.1 years, p=0.037) than the patients in other quartile groups. Thyroid volume correlated independently with TPOAb titer, and TgAb titer adjusted for other factors in a multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Thyroid volume in Korean AIT patients had an unimodal distribution and correlated with autoantibody titer.
Antibodies ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Autoantibodies ; Cohort Studies ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Radionuclide Imaging* ; Thyroglobulin ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroiditis ; Thyroiditis, Autoimmune*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) is a form of thyroiditis associated with autoimmune antibodies. Few studies have measured thyroid volume in Asians. This study was undertaken to determine the distribution of thyroid volume and to explore possible correlations between thyroid volume and other factors in a Korean cohort. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred eleven patients who underwent (99m)Tc-pertechnetate thyroid scintigraphy between 2009 and 2011 were recruited and their thyroid volume was measured. AIT was defined as having thyroperoxidase antibody (TPOAb) and/or thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) positivity and TRAb negativity, regardless of thyroid function. RESULTS: The mean thyroid volume was 32.1 mL in AIT patients. The distribution of thyroid volume was normal after log transformation. Thyroid volume was larger in patients with both autoantibodies than in patients with only one antibody (p<0.001). The first quartile of patients grouped according to thyroid volume were older (52.1 years, p=0.037) than the patients in other quartile groups. Thyroid volume correlated independently with TPOAb titer, and TgAb titer adjusted for other factors in a multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Thyroid volume in Korean AIT patients had an unimodal distribution and correlated with autoantibody titer.
Antibodies ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Autoantibodies ; Cohort Studies ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Radionuclide Imaging* ; Thyroglobulin ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroiditis ; Thyroiditis, Autoimmune*