Abstract
Lung surfactant dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) settles on the luminal aspect of blood vessels and forms an active hydrophobic spot – AHS, at which nanobubbles are formed. We hypothesized that large molecules circulating in the blood will adhere and deformed at the gas phase/plasma interface being recognized as autoantigen. NZB mice are afflicted spontaneously with lupus. If their blood vessels contain high levels of DPPC it may support the theory of dual causes of autoimmunity. Phospholipids were extracted from hearts of 8 LPR (lupus) mice and 5 MJP (control mice), and were tested for presence of DPPC. DPPC mg/g was 0.059 in lupus mice and 0.017 in control mice where for equal variance; P = 0.08 and for unequal variance P = 0.048. This trend of 3.5-fold DPPC in lupus mice, supports our hypothesis of dual causes as the origin of autoimmune diseases. The high potential of the hypothesis should be a drive to further explore its validity.
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