Lan Lin1, Timothy P Moran2, Bin Peng3, Jinsheng Yang1, Donna A Culton1, Huilian Che4, Songsong Jiang4, Zhi Liu1, Songmei Geng5, Yuzhu Zhang6, Luis A Diaz1, Ye Qian7. 1. Department of Dermatology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC. 2. Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC. 3. Department of Dermatology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC; Department of Dermatology, Northwest Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi, China. 4. Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; Western Regional Research Center, US Department of Agriculture, Albany, Calif. 5. Department of Dermatology, Northwest Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi, China. 6. Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. 7. Department of Dermatology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC. Electronic address: ye_qian@med.unc.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Environmental factors, as well as genetic predisposition, are known to be critical for the development of autoimmunity. However, the environmental agents that trigger autoimmune responses have remained elusive. One possible explanation is the "hit-and-run" mechanism in which the inciting antigens that initiate autoimmune responses are not present at the time of overt autoimmune disease. OBJECTIVE: After our previous findings that some allergens can incite autoimmune responses, we investigated the potential role of environmental allergens in triggering autoantibody development in patients with an autoimmune skin disease, pemphigus vulgaris (PV). METHODS: Revertant/germline mAbs (with mutations on variable regions of heavy and light chains reverted to germline forms) of 8 anti-desmoglein (Dsg) 3 pathogenic mAbs from patients with PV were tested for reactivity against a panel of possible allergens, including insects, pollens, epithelia, fungi, and food antigens. RESULTS: All the PV germline mAbs were reactive to antigens from walnut, including the well-known allergen Jug r 2 and an uncharacterized 85-kDa protein component. Sera from patients with PV contained significantly greater levels of anti-Dsg3 autoantibodies than walnut-specific antibodies, suggesting that the autoreactive B-cell response in patients with PV might be initially triggered by walnut antigens but is subsequently driven by Dsg3. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that walnut antigens/allergens can initiate autoantibody development in patients with PV through a "hit-and-run" mechanism. The revertant/germline mAb approach might provide a paradigm for the etiological study of other allergic and autoimmune diseases.
BACKGROUND: Environmental factors, as well as genetic predisposition, are known to be critical for the development of autoimmunity. However, the environmental agents that trigger autoimmune responses have remained elusive. One possible explanation is the "hit-and-run" mechanism in which the inciting antigens that initiate autoimmune responses are not present at the time of overt autoimmune disease. OBJECTIVE: After our previous findings that some allergens can incite autoimmune responses, we investigated the potential role of environmental allergens in triggering autoantibody development in patients with an autoimmune skin disease, pemphigus vulgaris (PV). METHODS: Revertant/germline mAbs (with mutations on variable regions of heavy and light chains reverted to germline forms) of 8 anti-desmoglein (Dsg) 3 pathogenic mAbs from patients with PV were tested for reactivity against a panel of possible allergens, including insects, pollens, epithelia, fungi, and food antigens. RESULTS: All the PV germline mAbs were reactive to antigens from walnut, including the well-known allergen Jug r 2 and an uncharacterized 85-kDa protein component. Sera from patients with PV contained significantly greater levels of anti-Dsg3 autoantibodies than walnut-specific antibodies, suggesting that the autoreactive B-cell response in patients with PV might be initially triggered by walnut antigens but is subsequently driven by Dsg3. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that walnut antigens/allergens can initiate autoantibody development in patients with PV through a "hit-and-run" mechanism. The revertant/germline mAb approach might provide a paradigm for the etiological study of other allergic and autoimmune diseases.
Authors: Ute Wellmann; Miriam Letz; Martin Herrmann; Sieglinde Angermüller; Joachim R Kalden; Thomas H Winkler Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2005-06-20 Impact factor: 11.205
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Authors: Alice Cho; Amber L Caldara; Nina A Ran; Zach Menne; Robert C Kauffman; Maurizio Affer; Alexandra Llovet; Carson Norwood; Aaron Scanlan; Grace Mantus; Bridget Bradley; Stephanie Zimmer; Thomas Schmidt; Michael Hertl; Aimee S Payne; Ron Feldman; Andrew P Kowalczyk; Jens Wrammert Journal: Cell Rep Date: 2019-07-23 Impact factor: 9.423