Namboodiri A M, Rocca K M, Kuwana M, Pandey J P
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425-2230, USA.
Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2006 Mar-Apr;24(2):176-8.
To determine whether elevated levels of antibodies to HCMV protein UL83 were present in patients with SSc and if their prevalence was associated with major SSc-associated autoantibodies.
The study population consisted of 253 Caucasian subjects (110 SSc patients and 143 controls). IgG antibodies to UL83 were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Antibodies to centromere and RNA polymerase (RNAP) were determined by indirect immunofluorescence and immnoprecipitation methods, respectively.
The mean level of anti-UL83 antibodies in the sera of SSc patients as a whole was significantly higher than that in control subjects (14.75 vs 10.6 units/microl, p = 0.002). Both subgroups of patients contributed to this variation: compared to controls, anti-UL83 antibody levels were higher in diffuse (16.32 vs 10.6 units/microl, p = 0.012) as well as in those with the limited form of the disease (13.95 vs 10.6 units/microl, p = 0.015). Anti-UL83 antibodies were not associated with major SSc associated autoantibodies.
Humoral immunity to HCMV protein UL83 may be relevant to the etiopathogenesis of scleroderma.
确定系统性硬化症（SSc）患者中是否存在针对人巨细胞病毒（HCMV）蛋白UL83的抗体水平升高，以及其患病率是否与主要的SSc相关自身抗体有关。
研究人群包括253名白种人受试者（110名SSc患者和143名对照）。采用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）法检测抗UL83的IgG抗体。分别通过间接免疫荧光法和免疫沉淀法检测抗着丝点抗体和抗RNA聚合酶（RNAP）抗体。
总体而言，SSc患者血清中抗UL83抗体的平均水平显著高于对照受试者（14.75对10.6单位/微升，p = 0.002）。两个患者亚组均导致了这种差异：与对照组相比，弥漫型患者（16.32对10.6单位/微升，p = 0.012）以及局限型患者（13.95对10.6单位/微升，p = 0.015）的抗UL83抗体水平更高。抗UL83抗体与主要的SSc相关自身抗体无关。
针对HCMV蛋白UL83的体液免疫可能与硬皮病的发病机制相关。
