Allergic response to common environmental agents has been regarded as a main pathogenetic mechanism of bronchial asthma. However, allergic sensitization (atopy) can not be detected in a siginificant number of adult asthmatic patients. The etiology of nonatopic asthma has not yet been defined. To evaluate the possible involvement of autoimmune response against bronchial mucosa in the pathogenesis of nonatopic asthma, we performed indirect immunofluorescence staining of fresh frozen human bronchial mucosa tissue using serum samples from patients with atopic and nonatopic asthma, healthy controls, and patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. On immunostaining, circulating IgG autoantibodies against bronchial mucosa were detected in 2 (9.1%) of 22 patients with nonatopic asthma and in none of 22 patients with atopic asthma and of 22 healthy controls. IgG autoantibodies from the two patients with nonatopic asthma predominantly stained the cytoplasmic membrane of basal cells in bronchial epithelium. Serum samples from 10 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus immunostained the nucleus of epithelial cells in whole layer of bronchial epithelium. This study showed the presence of circulating IgG autoantibodies against the bronchial epithelial cell in a small portion of patients with nonatopic asthma. Further studies may be necessary to evaluate the possible involvement of autoimmune mechanism in the pathogenesis of nonatopic asthma.
Asthma/immunology* ; Autoantibodies/immunology* ; Autoantibodies/blood ; Bronchi/immunology* ; Epithelial Cells/immunology ; Human ; Immunity, Mucosal/immunology ; Respiratory Mucosa/immunology*

Leucine-rich glioma-inactivated protein 1(LGI1)antibody-associated encephalitis is an autoimmune brain disease mainly seen in mid-aged and elderly people.Its main clinical manifestations include abnormal mental behaviors,facial-arm dystonia,hyponatremia,and hypokalemia.Immunotherapy with gamma globulin and/or hormone is effective.Two patients with LGT1 antibody-associated encephalitis were diagnosed in our center between January 2018 and October 2018,with typical clinical findings.The disease was cursed after immunoglobulin and hormone treatments.
Autoantibodies ; immunology ; Encephalitis ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Humans ; Proteins ; immunology

The autoantigenic epitopes carried by the platelet glycoprotein in patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) have been observed to localize on the specific regions of glycoprotein. There is a limited number of autoantigenic epitopes on the respective glycoproteins. The clonal B-cell and/or T cell expansion have been detected in some patients with ITP, and the autoantibodies is clonally derived. This research is of clinical importance since identification of clonally derived autoantibodies not only may help to discover the pathogenesis of ITP but also lead to less toxic and more specific therapies. In this review, the clonal limitation of autoantibody and clonal expansion of B-lymphocyte is ITP, clonal characteristics of T-lymphocyte in ITP, and significance of research on clones in ITP were discussed and summarized.
Autoantibodies ; immunology ; B-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; Epitopes ; Humans ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic ; etiology ; immunology ; T-Lymphocytes ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo review the development of T follicular helper (TFH) cells and their role in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pathogenesis, the effect of dendritic cells (DCs) on TFH cells in SLE, as well as the potential use of TFH cells as a new therapeutic target in clinical practice.

DATA SOURCESThe data used in this review were retrieved mainly from the PubMed database (1989-2013). The terms used in the literature search were "T follicular helper cells," "systemic lupus erythematosus," and "dendritic cells."

STUDY SELECTIONRelevant publications about the TFH cells development, the interaction between the TFH cells and the DCs, and the clinical applications of TFH cells were identified, retrieved, and reviewed.

RESULTSTFH cells, a novel distinct CD4+ T cell subset, are specialized in providing help to B cells in the formation of germinal centers (GCs) and long-term protective humoral immune responses. The development of TFH cells from naïve CD4+ T cell is a multistep process. As the pivot of immunoregulation, DCs are indispensable for TFH cells generation. In addition to receptor-ligand interactions between TFH cells and DCs, the cytokines secreted by DCs are also necessary for TFH cell generation. TFH cell dysregulation has been implicated in the development of SLE. More evidence from animal models of SLE and SLE patients suggests that TFH cells are necessary for pathogenic autoantibody production. Therefore, therapeutically targeting TFH cells can be a promising approach to treat antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases including SLE.

CONCLUSIONTFH cells play a critical role in the pathogenesis of SLE, making them attractive therapeutic targets in clinical practice.

Autoantibodies ; immunology ; Dendritic Cells ; immunology ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; immunology ; T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer ; immunology

Autoantibodies ; immunology ; Female ; Hepatitis, Autoimmune ; immunology ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human ; immunology ; Humans ; Male

Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is a autoimmune disease that is highly incident year by year. Its clinical manifestations are alternative hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, relatively high Th1, excessively low Th2 and constantly increasing TGAb and TMAB. Currently, the disease is still difficult to be cured, and instable thyroid function makes it harder to be treated. Therefore, this essay makes a summary analysis on domestic and foreign studies on HT's pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and treatment, resulting that pure supplement or immunosuppressive therapy is hard to achieve notable efficacy, while existing traditional Chinese medicines could only mitigate clinical symposiums but did not reduce inflammation. Therefore, to look for methods and drugs for adjusting immunity imbalance by decreasing Th1 cell factors and increasing Th2 cell factors is significant to HT treatment to some extent.
Animals ; Autoantibodies ; immunology ; Female ; Humans ; T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer ; immunology ; Thyroiditis, Autoimmune ; drug therapy ; immunology ; pathology

Vitiligo is a disease in which melanocytes are selectively destroyed. The disease is thought to be an autoimmune process being there are antibodies to pigment cells in the sera of patients and animals with vitiligo. In the present study, sera from vitiligo patients were examined for reactivity with the human melanoma cell line, SK-Mel-28, by Western blot analysis of solubilized membrane antigens of these cells to identify the pigment cell antigens defined by antibodies in the patients with vitiligo. Antibody reactivity to human melanoma cells (SK-Mel-28) was investigated in 14 patients with vitiligo, and 16 with normal control individuals. Antibodies to the 116-113, 60, 40 KD antigens were associated with vitiligo being present in 79%, 86%, and 43% respectively of the patients with vitiligo, but in only 6%, 38% and 6% of the normal controls. In contrast, antibodies to the 160-155, 78 and 64 KD antigens were equally common in vitiligo and in normal individuals. The results suggest that autoreactivity to pigment cells occurs more commonly in patients with vitiligo than in the normal control and high autoreactivity to pigment cells in the vitiligo sera might be an impertinent epiphemenon to destroyed pigment cell.
Antibodies, Neoplasm/*blood ; Antigens, Neoplasm/immunology ; Autoantibodies/blood ; Blotting, Western ; Human ; Melanoma/*immunology ; Vitiligo/*immunology

Systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE)is a chronic autoimmune disease that involves multiple organs and tissues.Its pathogenic mechanism remains unclear.Impaired inflammatory response and reduced clearance of immune cells are key events in the development of SLE,during which the pentraxin family plays an important role.This article summarizes recent advances in the relationship between anti-C-reactive protein autoantibody and SLE.
Autoantibodies ; immunology ; C-Reactive Protein ; immunology ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the utility of zinc transporter-8 (ZnT8) in the improvement of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) diagnosis and prediction, and to explore whether ZnT8 is a potential therapeutic target in T1DM.

DATA SOURCESA search was conducted within the medical database PubMed for relevant articles published from 2001 to 2015. The search terms are as follows: "ZnT8," "type 1 diabetes," "latent autoimmune diabetes in adults," "type 2 diabetes," "islet autoantibodies," "zinc supplement," "T cells," "β cell," "immune therapy." We also searched the reference lists of selected articles.

STUDY SELECTIONEnglish-language original articles and critical reviews concerning ZnT8 and the clinical applications of islet autoantibodies in diabetes were reviewed.

RESULTSThe basic function of ZnT8 is maintaining intracellular zinc homeostasis, which modulates the process of insulin biosynthesis, storage, and secretion. Autoantibodies against ZnT8 (ZnT8A) and ZnT8-specific T cells are the reliable biomarkers for the identification, stratification, and characterization of T1DM. Additionally, the results from the animal models and clinical trials have shown that ZnT8 is a diabetogenic antigen, suggesting the possibility of ZnT8-specific immunotherapy as an alternative for T1DM therapy.

CONCLUSIONSZnT8 is a novel islet autoantigen with a widely potential for clinical applications in T1DM. However, before the large-scale clinical applications, there are still many problems to be solved.

Animals ; Autoantibodies ; immunology ; Autoantigens ; immunology ; Cation Transport Proteins ; immunology ; metabolism ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 ; immunology ; metabolism ; Humans

OBJECTIVETo test anti-Sp17 antibodies in the serum of AsAb positive infertile patients, to investigate the proportion of anti-Spl7 antibodies in AsAb and their potential application to the serologic diagnosis of immune infertility and immunocontraception.

METHODSWith human recombinant Sp17 as the antigen, the ELISA method was used to detect the positive rate, antibody titre and content of anti-Sp17 antibodies in the AsAb positive serum.

RESULTSThe positive rate of anti-Sp17 antibodies in the AsAb positive serum was 56.5%, with no significant difference in the gender aspect. The percentage of anti-Sp17 antibodies in AsAb was (10.09 +/-7.45) %, with statistical significance (P <0.05).

CONCLUSIONSp17 is an important sperm antigen. Anti-Sp17 antibodies in the serum can be taken as auxiliary diagnostic index of infertility, and Sp17 is shown to be a potential candidate immunocontraception vaccine.

Adult ; Antigens, Surface ; immunology ; Autoantibodies ; blood ; Carrier Proteins ; immunology ; Contraception, Immunologic ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; blood ; immunology ; Male ; Spermatozoa ; immunology