Chitinase 3-like 1 is not a target antigen in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Autoimmunity to chitinase 3-like 1 (CHI3L1) has recently been reported in hepatic and bowel inflammatory conditions. Considering that CHI3L1 plays a role as prognostic biomarker in multiple sclerosis (MS), here we investigated CHI3L1 as potential autoantigenic target in the disease. We determined serum CHI3L1 autoantibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in a cohort of 60 untreated MS patients with different clinical forms of the disease and 20 healthy controls (HC). IgG levels to CHI3L1 were similar between patients with relapsing-remitting MS, primary and secondary progressive MS, and HC. These findings do not support a role for CHI3L1 autoantibodies in MS pathogenesis.

The loss of tolerance to CHI3L1 - A putative role in inflammatory bowel disease?

The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is steadily increasing. IBD is characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and is divided into the two main entities Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Genetic predispositions, environmental factors and a dysregulated immune response are known to be involved at the beginning of IBD. However, their etiopathogenesis is not yet fully understood. Over the last ten years, there has been increasing evidence of the involvement of the member of the 18-glycosylhydrolase family chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) in IBD. CHI3L1 is associated with various diseases such as cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis or IBD as well as neurological diseases where it can act as a chemoattractant, mitogen or growth factor. This review will focus on the role of autoimmunity to CHI3L1 in IBD in the context of its expression in inflamed colonic epithelia and interaction with intestinal microbiota. Further, it will provide insights into the interaction of CHI3L1 with different mechanisms of the innate and adaptive immune response in IBD.

Impact of smoothing on parameter estimation in quantitative DNA amplification experiments.

BACKGROUND: Quantification cycle (Cq) and amplification efficiency (AE) are parameters mathematically extracted from raw data to characterize quantitative PCR (qPCR) reactions and quantify the copy number in a sample. Little attention has been paid to the effects of preprocessing and the use of smoothing or filtering approaches to compensate for noisy data. Existing algorithms largely are taken for granted, and it is unclear which of the various methods is most informative. We investigated the effect of smoothing and filtering algorithms on amplification curve data. METHODS: We obtained published high-replicate qPCR data sets from standard block thermocyclers and other cycler platforms and statistically evaluated the impact of smoothing on Cq and AE. RESULTS: Our results indicate that selected smoothing algorithms affect estimates of Cq and AE considerably. The commonly used moving average filter performed worst in all qPCR scenarios. The Savitzky-Golay smoother, cubic splines, and Whittaker smoother resulted overall in the least bias in our setting and exhibited low sensitivity to differences in qPCR AE, whereas other smoothers, such as running mean, introduced an AE-dependent bias. CONCLUSIONS: The selection of a smoothing algorithm is an important step in developing data analysis pipelines for real-time PCR experiments. We offer guidelines for selection of an appropriate smoothing algorithm in diagnostic qPCR applications. The findings of our study were implemented in the R packages chipPCR and qpcR as a basis for the implementation of an analytical strategy.

Location-based prediction model for Crohn's disease regarding a novel serological marker, anti-chitinase 3-like 1 autoantibodies.

BACKGROUND: Defective neutrophil regulation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is thought to play an important role in the onset or manifestation of IBD, as it could lead to damage of the intestinal mucosal barrier by the infiltration of neutrophils in the inflamed mucosa and the accumulation of pathogens. Like neutrophils in the context of innate immune responses, immunoglobulin A (IgA) as an acquired immune response partakes in the defense of the intestinal epithelium. Under normal conditions, IgA contributes to the elimination of microbes, but in connection with the loss of tolerance to chitinase 3-like 1 (CHI3L1) in IBD, IgA could participate in CHI3L1-mediated improved adhesion and invasion of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. The tolerance brake to CHI3L1 and the occurrence of IgA autoantibodies to this particular target, the exact role and underlying mechanisms of CHI3L1 in the pathogenesis of IBD are still unclear. AIM: To determine the predictive potential of Ig subtypes of a novel serological marker, anti-CHI3L1 autoantibodies (aCHI3L1) in determining the disease phenotype, therapeutic strategy and long-term disease course in a prospective referral cohort of adult IBD patients. METHODS: Sera of 257 Crohn's disease (CD) and 180 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients from a tertiary IBD referral center of Hungary (Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen) were assayed for IgG, IgA, and secretory IgA (sIgA) type aCHI3L1 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using recombinant CHI3L1, along with 86 healthy controls (HCONT). RESULTS: The IgA type was more prevalent in CD than in UC (29.2% vs 11.1%) or HCONT (2.83%; P < 0.0001 for both). However, sIgA subtype aCHI3L1 positivity was higher in both CD and UC patients than in HCONT (39.3% and 32.8% vs 4.65%, respectively; P < 0.0001). The presence of both IgA and sIgA aCHI3L1 antibodies was associated with colonic involvement (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.038, respectively) in patients with CD. Complicated disease behavior at sample procurement was associated with aCHI3L1 sIgA positivity (57.1% vs 36.0%, P = 0.009). IgA type aCH3L1 was more prevalent in patients with frequent relapse during the disease course in the CD group (46.9% vs 25.7%, P = 0.005). In a group of patients with concomitant presence of pure inflammatory luminal disease and colon involvement at the time of diagnosis, positivity for IgA or sIgA type aCH3L1 predicted faster progression towards a complicated disease course in time-dependent models. This association disappeared after merging subgroups of different disease locations. CONCLUSION: CHI3L1 is a novel neutrophil autoantigenic target in IBD. The consideration of antibody classes along with location-based prediction may transform the future of serology in IBD.

Autoantibody testing by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-a case in which the solid phase decides on success and failure.

BACKGROUND: The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is an indispensable tool for clinical diagnostics to identify or differentiate diseases such as autoimmune illnesses, but also to monitor their progression or control the efficacy of drugs. One use case of ELISA is to differentiate between different states (e.g. healthy vs. diseased). Another goal is to quantitatively assess the biomarker in question, like autoantibodies. Thus, the ELISA technology is used for the discovery and verification of new autoantibodies, too. Of key interest, however, is the development of immunoassays for the sensitive and specific detection of such biomarkers at early disease stages. Therefore, users have to deal with many parameters, such as buffer systems or antigen-autoantibody interactions, to successfully establish an ELISA. Often, fine-tuning like testing of several blocking substances is performed to yield high signal-to-noise ratios. METHODS: We developed an ELISA to detect IgA and IgG autoantibodies against chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1), a newly identified autoantigen in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), in the serum of control and disease groups (n = 23, respectively). Microwell plates with different surface modifications (PolySorp and MaxiSorp coating) were tested to detect reproducibility problems. RESULTS: We found a significant impact of the surface properties of the microwell plates. IgA antibody reactivity was significantly lower, since it was in the range of background noise, when measured on MaxiSorp coated plates (p < 0.0001). The IgG antibody reactivity did not differ on the diverse plates, but the plate surface had a significant influence on the test result (p = 0.0005). CONCLUSION: With this report, we want to draw readers' attention to the properties of solid phases and their effects on the detection of autoantibodies by ELISA. We want to sensitize the reader to the fact that the choice of the wrong plate can lead to a false negative test result, which in turn has serious consequences for the discovery of autoantibodies.

Identification of Chitinase-3-Like Protein 1 as a Novel Neutrophil Antigenic Target in Crohn's Disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There is an increasing incidence of inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]. Autoimmune responses are involved in the pathophysiology of IBD, but their underlying pathways and target antigens have not yet been fully elucidated. METHODS: Autoantigenic targets in IBD were identified after separation of whole cell proteins isolated from neutrophils using two-dimensional electrophoresis and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization - time of flight mass spectrometry-based protein identification of the spots that displayed Western blotting signals with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-positive sera. The prevalence of IgG, IgA and secretory IgA [sIgA] to chitinase 3-like protein 1 [CHI3L1] was analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays using recombinant CHI3L1 in 110 patients with Crohn's disease [CD], 95 with ulcerative colitis [UC], 126 with coeliac disease [CeD] and 86 healthy controls [HCs]. RESULTS: The 18-glycosylhydrolase family member CHI3L1 was identified as a neutrophil autoantigenic target. CD patients displayed significantly higher levels of IgG to CHI3L1 than patients with UC and CeD (p < 0.0001, respectively). IgA and sIgA to CHI3L1 was significantly higher in CD than in UC, CeD and HCs [p < 0.0001, respectively]. IgA and sIgA to CHI3L1 demonstrated the highest prevalence in CD [25.5%, 28/110; and 41.8%%, 46/110] compared to HCs [2.3%, 2/86; and 4.7%%, 4/86; p = 0.0015 and p < 0.0001] and are associated with a more complicated progression of CD. CONCLUSION: CHI3L1 is a novel neutrophil autoantigenic target in CD. IgA and sIgA to CHI3L1 may serve as novel markers for CD and may facilitate the serological diagnosis of IBD.

Retinol-binding protein 4 and its membrane receptor STRA6 control adipogenesis by regulating cellular retinoid homeostasis and retinoic acid receptor α activity.

Retinoids are vitamin A (retinol) derivatives and complex regulators of adipogenesis by activating specific nuclear receptors, including the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) and retinoid X receptor (RXR). Circulating retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) and its membrane receptor STRA6 coordinate cellular retinol uptake. It is unknown whether retinol levels and the activity of RAR and RXR in adipocyte precursors are linked via RBP4/STRA6. Here, we show that STRA6 is expressed in precursor cells and, dictated by the apo- and holo-RBP4 isoforms, mediates bidirectional retinol transport that controls RARα activity and subsequent adipocyte differentiation. Mobilization of retinoid stores in mice by inducing RBP4 secretion from the liver activated RARα signaling in the precursor cell containing the stromal-vascular fraction of adipose tissue. Retinol-loaded holo-RBP4 blocked adipocyte differentiation of cultured precursors by activating RARα. Remarkably, retinol-free apo-RBP4 triggered retinol efflux that reduced cellular retinoids, RARα activity, and target gene expression and enhanced adipogenesis synergistically with ectopic STRA6. Thus, STRA6 in adipocyte precursor cells links nuclear RARα activity to the circulating RBP4 isoforms, whose ratio in obese mice was shifted toward limiting the adipogenic potential of their precursors. This novel cross talk identifies a retinol-dependent metabolic function of RBP4 that may have important implications for the treatment of obesity.