Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University General Hospital, University of Thessaly Viopolis, Larissa, Greece.
Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece.
Clin Immunol. 2019 Oct;207:87-96. doi: 10.1016/j.clim.2019.07.012. Epub 2019 Jul 29.
Anti-human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) antibodies are considered triggers of systemic sclerosis (SSc), but such a hypothesis has been assessed in limited sub-dominant epitopes. Our aim was to systematically assess the potential association of HCMV antibodies targeting most immunodominant and subdominant viral antigens, as this would reveal immunopathogenic associations. Our study included 110 SSc patients, 60 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and 51 healthy controls (HC). Anti-HCMV abs were tested by immunoblotting. IgG anti-HCMV was broader in SSc and MS compared to HC. Anti- UL57 and UL55 were more frequent in SSc versus MS forms. Reactivity to multiple viral antigens was more frequent in SSc than MS forms. Anti-viral antibodies levels were higher in specific autoantibody-positive SSc patients compared to seronegative cases. In conclusion, more prevalent and/or stronger antigen-specific HCMV responses are noted in SSc compared to controls, implying a role of these viral responses in SSc development.
抗人巨细胞病毒 (HCMV) 抗体被认为是全身性硬皮病 (SSc) 的触发因素，但这种假说仅在有限的次要表位中得到了评估。我们的目的是系统评估针对大多数免疫优势和次要病毒抗原的 HCMV 抗体的潜在关联，因为这将揭示免疫发病机制的关联。我们的研究纳入了 110 例 SSc 患者、60 例多发性硬化症 (MS) 患者和 51 名健康对照者 (HC)。通过免疫印迹法检测抗 HCMV 抗体。与 HC 相比，SSc 和 MS 患者的 IgG 抗 HCMV 更为广泛。与 MS 形式相比，抗 UL57 和 UL55 在 SSc 中更为常见。与 MS 形式相比，SSc 患者对多种病毒抗原的反应更为频繁。与血清阴性病例相比，特定自身抗体阳性的 SSc 患者的抗病毒抗体水平更高。总之，与对照组相比，SSc 中更常见和/或更强的 HCMV 特异性反应，这表明这些病毒反应在 SSc 的发生中起作用。
