Sciascia Savino, Bentow Chelsea, Radin Massimo, Barinotti Alice, Cecchi Irene, Foddai Silvia, Roccatello Dario, Mahler Michael
University Center of Excellence on Nephrologic, Rheumatologic and Rare Diseases (ERK-Net, ERN-Reconnect and RITA-ERN Member) with Nephrology and Dialysis Unit and Center of Immuno-Rheumatology and Rare Diseases (CMID), Coordinating Center of the Interregional Network for Rare Diseases of Piedmont and Aosta Valley, San Giovanni Bosco Hub Hospital, 10154 Turin, Italy.
Werfen Autoimmunity, San Diego, CA 92131, USA.
Diagnostics (Basel). 2022 Aug 22;12(8):2026. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics12082026.
(1) Background: Autoimmune diseases are characterized by autoantibodies directed to a large number of antigenic targets and are measured using serum as sample matrix. Although serum is a very common specimen type, it comes with certain drawbacks. Most importantly, it depends on venous puncture and requires medical personnel for sampling. This is of particular importance in light of the limited healthcare access of patients with autoimmune diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, alternative sample matrices are being explored for the measurement of autoantibodies. Our study aimed to establish the feasibility of measuring autoantibodies in saliva samples using a novel and highly sensitive method for the detection of autoantibodies. (2) Methods: A total of 48 serum/saliva pairs were collected and tested using a novel particle-based multi-analyte technology (PMAT) system for the presence of a wide range of autoantibodies. (3) Results: A high level of correlation was observed between the results obtained with serum and saliva (Spearman's rho = 0.725). Study participants clearly preferred saliva over serum sampling as part of the usability assessment. (4) Conclusions: Saliva represents a promising alternative sample matrix for the detection of autoantibodies. The usability study showed a clear preference of saliva over serum as a sample matrix.
(1) 背景：自身免疫性疾病的特征是存在针对大量抗原靶点的自身抗体，通常以血清作为样本基质进行检测。虽然血清是一种非常常见的样本类型，但它也存在一些缺点。最重要的是，它依赖静脉穿刺，且需要医务人员进行采样。鉴于在新冠疫情期间自身免疫性疾病患者获得医疗服务的机会有限，这一点尤为重要。因此，正在探索用于检测自身抗体的替代样本基质。我们的研究旨在使用一种新型且高度灵敏的自身抗体检测方法，确定在唾液样本中检测自身抗体的可行性。(2) 方法：共收集了48对血清/唾液样本，并使用基于颗粒的新型多分析物技术（PMAT）系统检测多种自身抗体的存在情况。(3) 结果：血清和唾液检测结果之间观察到高度相关性（斯皮尔曼相关系数ρ = 0.725）。作为可用性评估的一部分，研究参与者明显更倾向于采集唾液而非血清样本。(4) 结论：唾液是一种很有前景的用于检测自身抗体的替代样本基质。可用性研究表明，作为样本基质，唾液明显比血清更受青睐。
