Abstract
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a common autoimmune disease. Many autoantibodies are closely associated with SLE. However, the specific epitopes recognized and bound by these autoantibodies are still unclear. This study screened the binding epitopes of SLE-related autoantibodies using a high-throughput screening method. Epitope prediction on 12 SLE-related autoantigens was performed using the Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Resource (IEDB) software. The predicted epitopes were synthesized into peptides and developed into a peptide array. Serum IgG from 50 SLE patients and 25 healthy controls was detected using the peptide array. The results were then validated using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The diagnostic efficiency of each epitope was analyzed using a ROC curve. Seventy-three potential epitopes were screened for using the IEDB software after the epitopes on the 12 SLE-related autoantigens were analyzed. Peptide array screening revealed that the levels of the autoantibodies recognized and bound by 4 peptide antigens were significantly upregulated in the serum of SLE patients (P < 0.05). The ELISA results showed that the 4 antigens with significantly increased serum autoantibodies levels in SLE patients were acidic ribosomal phosphoprotein (P0)-4, acidic ribosomal phosphoprotein (P0)-11, DNA topoisomerase 1 (full length)-1, and U1-SnRNP 68/70 KDa-1 (P < 0.05), and the areas under the ROC curve for diagnosing SLE on the basis of these peptides were 0.91, 0.90, 0.93, and 0.91, respectively. Many autoantibodies specifically expressed in the serum of patients with SLE can be detected by specific peptide fragments and may be used as markers in clinical auxiliary diagnoses.
Highlights
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a diffuse connective tissue disease, is predominantly characterized by immunological inflammation [1, 2]
A total of 73 potential antigen peptide indicators were obtained from the 12 predicted antigens using Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Resource (IEDB) software
SLE is a highly prevalent autoimmune disease that affects multiple systems and organs and is associated with a variety of autoantibodies, which makes the early stages of the disease difficult to diagnose [26,27,28]
Summary
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a diffuse connective tissue disease, is predominantly characterized by immunological inflammation [1, 2]. SLE is an autoimmune disease that involves multiple systems, organs, and autoantibodies. SLE can cause serious damage to various systems and organs, such as the skin, joints, serosa, heart, kidneys, central nervous system, and blood system, which seriously endangers the health of SLE sufferers. The main pathological manifestation of SLE is the production of numerous autoantibodies www.impactjournals.com/oncotarget directed against proteins within the body, including the anti-nuclear antibody (ANA), anti-double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) antibody, anti-Sm antibody, anti-nucleosome antibody, anti-U1RNP antibody (anti-nRNP antibody), anti-ribosomal P antibody (anti-rRNP antibody), and antiSSA antibody. ANA is relatively specific for this disease; the positive detection rate for ANA is as high as 89–97%, and it is the most commonly detected autoantibody in SLE patients [6,7,8]
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