Anti-citrullinated α-enolase peptide as a highly sensitive autoantigen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Fu-Chiang Yeh,
Juin-Hong Cherng,
Shu-Jen Chang,
Wei-Ting Huang,
Hsiang-Cheng Chen
Affiliations
Fu-Chiang Yeh
Division of Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy, Department of Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, 114, Taiwan
Juin-Hong Cherng
Graduate Institute of Life Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, 114, Taiwan; Department and Graduate Institute of Biology and Anatomy, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, 114, Taiwan; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan, 320, Taiwan
Shu-Jen Chang
Department and Graduate Institute of Biology and Anatomy, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, 114, Taiwan
Wei-Ting Huang
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan, 320, Taiwan
Hsiang-Cheng Chen
Division of Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy, Department of Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, 114, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, 114, Taiwan; Corresponding author. Division of Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy, Department of Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114, Taiwan.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common autoimmune rheumatic disease in Taiwan. Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) assay is widely used for RA diagnosis; however, not all anti-CCPs are detectable in RA-joint lesions. Citrullinated α-enolase peptide (CEP), which has a unique immunodominant epitope, can be detected in synovial fluid. Here, we aimed to evaluate the potential of anti-CEP as a serologic marker for the early diagnosis of RA and a prognostic predictor of joint destruction. We also determined the association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes with the serological status and clinical characteristics of RA. Clinical records of 30 patients with RA were collected, and their serum and DNA samples were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and SNP cross-reaction analysis. A considerable amount of anti-CEP was detected in patients with RA, a trend similar to that of anti-CCP. Moreover, anti-CEP was considerably associated with the protein-arginine deiminase type-2 SNP rs1005753.
