Immunologic findings in workers formerly exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and its congeners

One hundred ninety-two workers in a German pesticide factory who were exposed to polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and -furans (PCDD/PCDF) were investigated for former and present diseases and laboratory changes of the immune system. Moreover, in a subgroup of 29 highly exposed and 28 control persons, proliferation studies were performed. In addition to assays such as blood count, immunoglobulins, serum electrophoresis, monoclonal bands, surface markers, autoantibodies, and lymphocyte proliferation, two new methods, the rise of tetanus antibody concentration after vaccination and the in vitro resistance of lymphocytes to chromate, were used to diagnose the morphologic and functional state of t…

Autoimmune associations and autoantibody screening show focused recognition in patient subgroups with generalized myasthenia gravis

Autoimmune associations in myasthenia gravis (MG)-patients and their relatives have not been re-assessed since their separation into early- or late-onset MG (EOMG, LOMG), or thymoma-associated MG. Here, we analysed 226 EOMG-, 97 LOMG-, and 150 thymoma-patients for autoimmune disorders in themselves and their relatives. From 283 of them sera were tested for different organ- and non-organ-specific autoantibodies (autoAbs) by immunofluorescence test (IFT) and ELISA; genotyping was performed in 213 patients. Relatives with autoimmune disorders were reported by more patients with EOMG (40% of 210) than LOMG (20% of 89; p0.01) than thymomas (8% of 150; p0.001). In 150 genotyped EOMG-females, the …

ELISA techniques for the detection of antimitochondrial antibodies

Identification of α-tubulin as an autoantigen recognized by sera from patients with neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus.

In a previous study we found in 50% of patients with neuropsychiatric manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (NP-SLE) organ specific antibodies to 45-56 kD proteins in a 100,000 g supernatant (SN) from bovine brain mitochondria. Aim of the present study was to identify the corresponding target antigen. A 100,000 g SN from bovine brain mitochondria was applied to SDS-gel electrophoresis. A 50 kD band recognized by sera from patients with NP-SLE in the Western blot (WB) was excised from the gels and applied to mass spectrometry. The identified protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and retested against sera from eleven patients with NP-SLE (severe symptoms n=6, mild symptoms n=5), …

Deficiency of the autoimmune regulator AIRE in thymomas is insufficient to elicit autoimmune polyendocrinopathy syndrome type 1 (APS‐1)

Thymomas are thymic epithelial neoplasms, associated with a variety of autoimmune disorders (especially myasthenia gravis), that apparently result from aberrant intra-tumourous thymopoiesis and export of inefficiently tolerized T-cells to the periphery. The autoimmune regulator (AIRE) drives the expression of self-antigens in the thymic medulla and plays an essential role in ‘central’ tolerance in both humans and mice. However, while inactivating AIRE mutations result in the ‘autoimmune polyendocrinopathy syndrome type 1’ (APS-1), its major features are not well reproduced in AIRE-knock-out mice. Therefore, alternative human disease scenarios with concomitant AIRE deficiency may be valuable…

Clinical relevance of antiphospholipid antibodies in primary biliary cirrhosis.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a cholestatic liver disease characterized by the presence of antimitochondrial autoantibodies (AMAs), but also with reactivities to other autoantigens. Recent studies showed that antibodies to phospholipids (APAs) represent an important group of autoantibodies identified in patients with PBC. In this study different types of APAs were identified in the sera of patients with PBC and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and control subjects. Sera from patients with PBC and AIH were tested for the presence of antibodies directed against cardiolipin (CL), phosphatidylserine (PS), and to beta(2)-glycoprotein I (beta(2)-GPI). Furthermore, an in-house test for antithrombop…