Antibodies against neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) potentiate clinical performance of anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus

Minghua Zhan; Ziwei Wang; Huizhang Bao; Chun Di; Changsheng Xia; Xuan Zhang; Yudong Liu

doi:10.1016/j.clim.2023.109297

Antibodies against neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) potentiate clinical performance of anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus

Clin Immunol. 2023 Apr:249:109297. doi: 10.1016/j.clim.2023.109297. Epub 2023 Mar 20.

Authors

Minghua Zhan¹, Ziwei Wang², Huizhang Bao², Chun Di², Changsheng Xia², Xuan Zhang³, Yudong Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ The Key Laboratory of Geriatrics, Beijing Institute of Geriatrics, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology, National Health Commission, Institute of Geriatric Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100730, China; Department of Clinical Laboratory, First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, China; Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
² Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
³ Department of Rheumatology, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology, Institute of Geriatric Medicine, Clinical Immunology Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China. Electronic address: zxpumch2003@sina.com.
⁴ The Key Laboratory of Geriatrics, Beijing Institute of Geriatrics, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology, National Health Commission, Institute of Geriatric Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100730, China; Department of Rheumatology, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology, Institute of Geriatric Medicine, Clinical Immunology Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China. Electronic address: yudongliu1983@126.com.

PMID: 36940814
DOI: 10.1016/j.clim.2023.109297

Abstract

Autoantibodies against NETs (ANETA) are present in SLE patients. We aimed to determine the clinical relevance of ANETA in SLE. Serum from 129 SLE patients, 161 patients with various rheumatoid diseases (DC), and 53 healthy controls (HC) were tested by a home-made ANETA ELISA platform. ANETA showed a sensitivity of 35.7% and a specificity of 92.5%, respectively, in the diagnosis of SLE. The combination of ANETA with anti-dsDNA antibody increased the diagnostic sensitivity from 49.6% to 62.8% for SLE. The presence of ANETA potentiates the clinical utility of anti-dsDNA antibodies in identifying a subset of SLE patients with higher disease activity and hematological abnormalities. The binding of ANETA to NETs did not inhibit the immunostimulatory effect of NETs. Our findings suggested that ANETA have potential as clinically relevant biomarkers that potentiate the clinical performance of anti-dsDNA antibodies in the diagnosis, risk stratification and subtyping of patients with SLE.

Keywords: Anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies; Antibodies against neutrophil extracellular traps; Diagnosis; Risk stratification; Systemic lupus erythematosus.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Antinuclear
Autoantibodies
DNA
Extracellular Traps* / metabolism
Humans
Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic*

Substances

anti-dsDNA autoantibody
Antibodies, Antinuclear
Autoantibodies
DNA