Anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECA) in patients with systemic vasculitis: our research using proteomics.

IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD: Anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECA) may cause damage to endothelial cell (EC) functions and therefore may be of a pathophysiological role in systemic vasculitis. The pathophysiological role of AECA, however, is still uncertain. AREAS COVERED IN THIS REVIEW: To clarify the detailed roles of AECA, various methods for identification of target proteins of AECA have been developed, such as expression libraries and proteomic approaches combining two-dimensional electrophoresis and immunoblotting. WHAT THE READER WILL GAIN: Advances, including our research, have been made in defining the target antigens of AECA, which we summarize in this review. Furthermore, we discuss the possible significance of AECA in the pathophysiology of vascular damage and the value of AECA in systemic vasculitis. TAKE HOME MESSAGE: To identify target antigens of AECA and to establish a standardized method for measuring AECA would be helpful in the search for a possible pathophysiological role of AECA in systemic vasculitis.