Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Department, Assiut University Hospital, Assiut, Egypt.
Clin Rheumatol. 2021 Jun;40(6):2277-2284. doi: 10.1007/s10067-020-05479-5. Epub 2020 Nov 24.
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disorder and commonly presents with vascular system involvement and motility disorders in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Vinculin is a cytoskeletal protein that plays major roles in cell-cell adhesion and is expressed in the neuromuscular apparatus of the gut. Antibodies to vinculin have been identified as a biomarker of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Our aim was to evaluate serum anti-vinculin antibodies in patients with SSc.
Patients were recruited from two SSc centers: group I (GI-enriched group), University of Leeds, UK, and Group II (vascular predominant), University of California, Los Angeles. Serum samples of patients recruited from two SSc centres, Group I ( GI enriched group), University of Leeds, UK and Group II (Vascular predominant), University of California, Los Angeles) were collected. Samples from age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers (N = 88) were used as controls.
Group I (GI-enriched group, N = 83) patients were 58 [50-67] years old; 83% were females with a median body mass index (BMI) of 20.3 (21.2 ± 4.5) [18-23]. Group II (vascular-enriched group, N = 72) patients were 58 [50-67] years old; 80% were female, and BMI was 23.9 (21.3-26.9). More subjects in group I had prominent GI involvement (N = 55, 66%) than group II (12, 16%), p ˂ 0.0001. Anti-vinculin antibody levels in SSc group I (1.3 [0.9]) were significantly higher than in HC (0.7 [0.8]; p = 0.002). When pooled, circulating anti-vinculin levels in both SSc groups remained significantly higher than in the HC group (p = 0.02). Higher anti-vinculin levels were associated with higher GI-visual analogue scale (GI-VAS) scores and specifically with GI-VAS scores of ≥ 4 (p < 0.0001).
This study demonstrates that elevated anti-vinculin antibody levels are common in SSc and suggests a potential link between increased anti-vinculin levels and GI tract symptoms.
• Anti-vinculin antibodies are elevated in systemic sclerosis and are relatively common. • In these SSc patients, anti-vinculin antibodies are associated with higher levels of GI symptoms in SSc. • A potential link between anti-vinculin antibodies and vascular system involvement was shown.
系统性硬化症（SSc）是一种自身免疫性疾病，通常表现为血管系统受累和胃肠道（GI）运动障碍。 vinculin 是一种细胞骨架蛋白，在肠道的神经肌肉装置中发挥重要作用，并表达在其中。已经鉴定出抗 vinculin 抗体是肠易激综合征（IBS）的生物标志物。我们的目的是评估 SSc 患者的血清抗 vinculin 抗体。
从两个 SSc 中心招募患者：I 组（GI 丰富组），英国利兹大学，和 II 组（血管优势组），加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校。从两个 SSc 中心（英国利兹大学的 GI 丰富组（I 组）和加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校的血管优势组（II 组））招募的患者血清样本。将年龄和性别匹配的健康志愿者（N = 88）的样本用作对照。
I 组（GI 丰富组，N = 83）患者年龄为 58 [50-67]岁；83%为女性，平均体重指数（BMI）为 20.3（21.2 ± 4.5）[18-23]。II 组（血管丰富组，N = 72）患者年龄为 58 [50-67]岁；80%为女性，BMI 为 23.9（21.3-26.9）。I 组中胃肠道受累明显的患者（N = 55，66%）多于 II 组（12，16%），p ˂ 0.0001。I 组 SSc 患者的抗 vinculin 抗体水平（1.3 [0.9]）明显高于 HC（0.7 [0.8]；p = 0.002）。当两组 SSc 患者合并时，循环抗 vinculin 水平仍明显高于 HC 组（p = 0.02）。较高的抗 vinculin 水平与较高的胃肠道视觉模拟量表（GI-VAS）评分相关，特别是 GI-VAS 评分≥4（p ˂ 0.0001）。
本研究表明，升高的抗 vinculin 抗体水平在 SSc 中很常见，并提示升高的抗 vinculin 水平与胃肠道症状之间可能存在联系。
• 抗 vinculin 抗体在系统性硬化症中升高，相对常见。• 在这些 SSc 患者中，抗 vinculin 抗体与 SSc 中更高水平的胃肠道症状相关。• 显示了抗 vinculin 抗体与血管系统受累之间的潜在联系。
