Autoimmunity to the alpha 3 chain of type IV collagen in glomerulonephritis is triggered by 'autoantigen complementarity'.

'Autoantigen complementarity' is a theory proposing that the initiator of an autoimmune response is not necessarily the autoantigen or its molecular mimic, but may instead be a peptide that is 'antisense/complementary' to the autoantigen. We investigated whether such complementary proteins play a role in the immunopathogenesis of autoimmune glomerulonephritis. Experimental autoimmune glomerulonephritis, a model of anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease, can be induced in Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats by immunization with the α3 chain of type IV collagen. In this study, WKY rats were immunized with a complementary α3 peptide (c-α3-Gly) comprised of amino acids that 'complement' the well characterized epitope on α3(IV)NC1, pCol(24-38). Within 8 weeks post-immunization, these animals developed cresentic glomerulonephritis, similar to pCol(24-38)-immunized rats, while animals immunized with scrambled peptide were normal. Anti-idiotypic antibodies to epitopes from c-α3-Gly-immunized animals were shown to be specific for α3 protein, binding in a region containing sense pCol(24-38) sequence. Interestingly, anti-complementary α3 antibodies were identified in sera from patients with anti-GBM disease, suggesting a role for 'autoantigen complementarity' in immunopathogenesis of the human disease. This work supports the idea that autoimmune glomerulonephritis can be initiated through an immune response against a peptide that is anti-sense or complementary to the autoantigen. The implications of this discovery may be far reaching, and other autoimmune diseases could be due to responses to these once unsuspected 'complementary' antigens.

Dysregulation of autoantigen genes in ANCA-associated vasculitis involves alternative transcripts and new protein synthesis.

Proteinase 3 (PR3) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) are two major autoantigens in patients with vasculitis with ANCA. The genes encoding these autoantigens are abnormally expressed in peripheral granulocytes of patients with active ANCA-associated vasculitis. This study provides evidence that this transcriptional dysregulation results in a variety of mRNA processing events from the PRTN3 gene locus. In addition to elevated levels of PR3 message, leukocyte RNA from patients contained PR3 transcripts with an alternative 3' untranslated region. Furthermore, we detected usage of an alternative transcription start site within intron 1 of the PRTN3 gene locus that coincided with active disease (odds ratio, 3.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 8.4; P=0.01). This promoter may be developmentally regulated, because it was active in normal human bone marrow, multiple leukemia cell lines, MCF-7 cells, and subjects after GM-CSF treatment but not subjects with a neutrophil left shift. This transcript, which lacks exon 1 of PRTN3, encodes a 24-kD protein (p24(PR3/MBN)) with a sequence similar to that previously described for myeloblastin. Notably, PR3, p24(PR3/MBN), and MPO were synthesized in cultured neutrophils from patients with active ANCA-associated vasculitis, indicating that increased transcription results in newly synthesized autoantigens in peripheral neutrophils of patients. The synthesis of p24(PR3/MBN) seems to expand the autoantigen repertoire, because immunoblots showed that sera from patients recognized p24(PR3/MBN). These findings emphasize the importance of transcriptional dysregulation of the autoantigen in autoimmune disease.

Autoantigen complementarity and its contributions to hallmarks of autoimmune disease.

The question considered is, "What causes the autoimmune response to begin and what causes it to worsen into autoimmune disease?" The theory of autoantigen complementarity posits that the initiating immunogen causing disease is a protein complementary (antisense) to the self-antigen, rather than a response to the native protein. The resulting primary antibody elicits an anti-antibody response or anti-idiotype, consequently producing a disease-inciting autoantibody. Yet, not everyone who developes self-reactive autoantibodies will manifest autoimmune disease. What is apparent is that manifestation of disease is governed by the acquisition of multiple immune-compromising traits that increase susceptibility and drive disease. Taking into account current cellular, molecular, and genetic information, six traits, or 'hallmarks', of autoimmune disease were proposed: (1) Autoreactive cells evade deletion, (2) Presence of asymptomatic autoantibodies, (3) Hyperactivity of Fc-FcR pathway, (4) Susceptibility to environmental impact, (5) Antigenic modifications of self-proteins, (6) Microbial Infections. Presented here is a discussion on how components delineated in the theory of autoantigen complementarity potentially promote the acquisition of multiple 'hallmarks' of disease.

Epitope specificity determines pathogenicity and detectability in ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated (ANCA-associated) small vessel necrotizing vasculitis is caused by immune-mediated inflammation of the vessel wall and is diagnosed in some cases by the presence of myeloperoxidase-specific antibodies (MPO-ANCA). This multicenter study sought to determine whether differences in ANCA epitope specificity explain why, in some cases, conventional serologic assays do not correlate with disease activity, why naturally occurring anti-MPO autoantibodies can exist in disease-free individuals, and why ANCA are undetected in patients with ANCA-negative disease. Autoantibodies from human and murine samples were epitope mapped using a highly sensitive epitope excision/mass spectrometry approach. Data indicated that MPO autoantibodies from healthy individuals had epitope specificities different from those present in ANCA disease. Importantly, this methodology led to the discovery of MPO-ANCA in ANCA-negative disease that reacted against a sole linear sequence. Autoantibodies against this epitope had pathogenic properties, as demonstrated by their capacity to activate neutrophils in vitro and to induce nephritis in mice. The confounder for serological detection of these autoantibodies was the presence of a fragment of ceruloplasmin in serum, which was eliminated in purified IgG, allowing detection. These findings implicate immunodominant epitopes in the pathology of ANCA-associated vasculitis and suggest that autoantibody diversity may be common to other autoimmune diseases.

Patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis have defective Treg cell function exacerbated by the presence of a suppression-resistant effector cell population.

OBJECTIVE: The development of pathogenic antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs) can result in systemic small vessel vasculitis. However, the breakdown in immune tolerance that results in the induction and persistence of ANCAs is not well understood. We undertook this study to test our hypothesis that abnormal T cell regulation is central to disease pathogenesis in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). METHODS: Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 62 patients with AAV and 19 healthy controls for flow cytometric analysis of CD4+ T cell populations. Functional T cell studies were performed with fluorescence-activated cell sorted CD4+ T cell populations stimulated with anti-CD3/anti-CD28. RESULTS: We demonstrated two separate abnormalities in T cell regulation in patients with AAV. First, we showed that the Treg cell frequency was increased in the peripheral blood of patients with active disease, but Treg cells from patients with AAV had decreased suppressive function. Treg cells from patients with active disease disproportionately used a FoxP3 isoform lacking exon 2, which might alter Treg cell function. Second, we identified a CD4+ T cell population with increased frequency that was resistant to Treg cell suppression, produced proinflammatory cytokines, and was antigen experienced. CONCLUSION: AAV is associated with disruption of the suppressive Treg cell network and with increased frequency of a distinct proinflammatory effector T cell subset that comprises the majority of peripheral CD4+ T cells.

High basal activity of the PTPN22 gain-of-function variant blunts leukocyte responsiveness negatively affecting IL-10 production in ANCA vasculitis.

Consequences of expression of the protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor 22 (PTPN22) gain-of-function variant were evaluated in leukocytes from patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA) disease. The frequency of the gain-of-function allele within the Caucasian patient cohort was 22% (OR 1.45), compared to general American Caucasian population (16.5%, p = 0.03). Examination of the basal phosphatase activity of PTPN22 gain-of-function protein indicated persistently elevated activity in un-stimulated peripheral leukocytes, while basal activity was undetectable in leukocytes from patients without the gain-of-function variant. To examine consequences of persistently high PTPN22 activity, the activation status of ERK and p38 MAPK were analyzed. While moderate levels of activated ERK were observed in controls, it was undetectable in leukocytes expressing PTPN22 gain-of-function protein and instead p38MAPK was up-regulated. IL-10 transcription, reliant on the ERK pathway, was negatively affected. Over the course of disease, patients expressing variant PTPN22 did not show a spike in IL-10 transcription as they entered remission in contrast to controls, implying that environmentally triggered signals were blunted. Sustained activity of PTPN22, due to the gain-of-function mutation, acts as a dominant negative regulator of ERK activity leading to blunted cellular responsiveness to environmental stimuli and expression of protective cytokines.

Anti-LAMP-2 antibodies are not prevalent in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody glomerulonephritis.

Lysosomal membrane protein 2 (LAMP-2) is a target of antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCA) in addition to the more commonly known targets proteinase 3 and myeloperoxidase. The prevalence of anti-LAMP-2 antibodies and their relationship to disease in ANCA glomerulonephritis are not well described. We measured anti-LAMP-2 reactivity in 680 sera samples (two academic centers) from patients with ANCA glomerulonephritis (n=329); those with ANCA-negative glomerulonephritis (n=104); those with fimbriated, gram-negative Escherichia coli urinary tract infection (n=104); disease controls (n=19); and healthy volunteers (n=124). With levels in healthy controls used to define a reference range, anti-LAMP-2 reactivity was present in 21% of ANCA sera from two of the centers; reactivity was present in 16% of the control group with urinary tract infection. Western blotting and immunofluorescence microscopy did not verify positivity. Titers of anti-myeloperoxidase and anti-proteinase 3 antibodies were 1500-fold and 10,000-fold higher than anti-LAMP-2 titers, respectively. There was no correlation between anti-LAMP-2 antibodies and disease activity. Furthermore, Wistar Kyoto rats injected with anti-LAMP-2 antibodies did not develop glomerulonephritis. In conclusion, antibodies that react with LAMP-2 may exist at very low titers in a minority of patients with ANCA disease. These data do not support a mechanistic relationship between anti-LAMP-2 antibodies and ANCA glomerulonephritis.

DRB1*15 allele is a risk factor for PR3-ANCA disease in African Americans.

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA) disease rarely occurs in African Americans and risk factors for the disease in this population are unknown. Here, we genotyped MHC class II alleles and found that, among African Americans, those with proteinase 3-ANCA (PR3-ANCA) had 73.3-fold higher odds of having HLA-DRB1*15 alleles than community-based controls (OR 73.3; 95% CI 9.1 to 591). In addition, a disproportionate number of African American patients carried the DRB1*1501 allelic variant of Caucasian descent rather than the DRB1*1503 allelic variant of African descent. Among Caucasians, those with PR3-ANCA had 2.2-fold higher odds of carrying DRB1*1501 than controls (OR 2.2; 95% CI 1.2 to 4.0). A validation study supported by the Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium confirmed the strong association between the DRB1*15 allele and PR3-ANCA disease, among African Americans. Furthermore, we found that DRB1*1501 protein binds with high affinity to amino acid sequences of sense-PR3, purportedly an antigenic epitope, and to the amino acid sequence complementary to this epitope in vitro. Peptides of sense-PR3 and complementary-PR3 also bound to TNF-α-induced surface expression of DRB1*1501 on peripheral neutrophils. Taken together, these data suggest HLA-DRB1*15 alleles contribute to the pathogenesis of PR3-ANCA disease.

Longitudinal studies of patients with ANCA vasculitis demonstrate concurrent reactivity to complementary PR3 protein segments cPR3m and cPR3C and with no reactivity to cPR3N.

Antibodies recognizing the complement of the middle of PR3 (cPR3m) occur in ∼30% of PR3-anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCA)-vasculitis patients and immunization of animals with a peptide complementary to the middle of PR3 (cPR3m) induces not only anti-complementary PR3 antibodies, but also anti-PR3 antibodies derived through an anti-idiotypic response. PR3 epitopes recognized by patient ANCA, however, are not restricted to the middle of PR3. This prompted us to test for antibodies that react with proteins complementary to the terminal regions of PR3 (cPR3C and cPR3N) in PR3-ANCA patients. Anti-cPR3C reactivity was detected in 28% of patients but anti-cPR3N reactivity in only 15%. Ranked anti-cPR3C and anti-cPR3m reactivity correlated in the cohort, whereas there was no significant relationship between cPR3C and cPR3N reactivity. Serial samples from 3 patients' revealed that anti-cPR3C and anti-cPR3m reactivity followed a similar pattern over time. Serial samples from a fourth patient demonstrated an anti-cPR3N response without concurrent cPR3m or cPR3C reactivity. Epitope determination by mass spectrometry identified a 13-amino acid sequence on cPR3C that contained a common binding site recognized by antibodies from three patients. This peptide sequence contains a "PHQ" motif which was reported to be the basis for cross-reactivity of anti-cPR3m antibodies with plasminogen. Why these antibodies are detected in only ∼30% of the patients remains unclear. The data reveal that it is not due to lack of inclusion of flanking regions of complementary PR3 during screening. Instead, quite unexpectedly, the data demonstrate that patients' antibodies react with a restricted epitope that exists in both cPR3m and cPR3C.

Epigenetic basis for aberrant upregulation of autoantigen genes in humans with ANCA vasculitis.

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA) causes vascular injury that leads to small-vessel vasculitis. Patients with ANCA aberrantly express neutrophil granule-encoding genes, including 2 that encode autoantigens: proteinase 3 (PR3) and myeloperoxidase (MPO). To uncover a potential transcriptional regulatory mechanism for PR3 and MPO disrupted in patients with ANCA vasculitis, we examined the PR3 and MPO loci in neutrophils from ANCA patients and healthy control individuals for epigenetic modifications associated with gene silencing. We found that levels of the chromatin modification H3K27me3, which is associated with gene silencing, were depleted at PR3 and MPO loci in ANCA patients compared with healthy controls. Interestingly, in both patients and controls, DNA was unmethylated at a CpG island in PR3, whereas in healthy controls, DNA was methylated at a CpG island in MPO. Consistent with decreased levels of H3K27me3, JMJD3, the demethylase specific for H3K27me3, was preferentially expressed in ANCA patients versus healthy controls. In addition, we describe a mechanism for recruiting the H3K27 methyltransferase enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) to PR3 and MPO loci mediated by RUNX3. RUNX3 message was decreased in patients compared with healthy controls, and may also be under epigenetic control. DNA methylation was increased at the RUNX3 promoter in ANCA patients. These data indicate that epigenetic modifications associated with gene silencing are perturbed at ANCA autoantigen-encoding genes, potentially contributing to inappropriate expression of PR3 and MPO in ANCA patients.

Antibodies with dual reactivity to plasminogen and complementary PR3 in PR3-ANCA vasculitis.

Patients with inflammatory vascular disease caused by anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCA) can harbor antibodies not only to the autoantigen proteinase 3 (PR3) but also to complementary PR3 (cPR3(105-201)), a recombinant protein translated from the antisense strand of PR3 cDNA. The purpose of this study was to identify potential endogenous targets of anti-cPR3(105-201) antibodies. Patients' plasmapheresis material was tested for the presence of antigens reactive with affinity-purified rabbit and chicken anti-cPR3(105-201) polyclonal antibodies. Antigen-containing fractions were tested with patients' anti-cPR3(105-201) affinity-purified IgG, and putative protein targets were sequenced by mass spectrometry. Unexpectedly, plasminogen was identified as a target of anti-cPR3(105-201). Reactivity of affinity-purified antibodies from two patients was lost when plasminogen was converted to plasmin, indicating restricted specificity. Antiplasminogen antibodies from five patients bound plasminogen at a surface-exposed loop structure within the protease domain. This loop contains an amino acid motif that is also found in a portion of recombinant cPR3(105-201); site-directed mutagenesis of this sequence decreased antibody reactivity by 30%. Functionally, antiplasminogen antibodies delayed the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin and increased the dissolution time of fibrin clots. Serologically, antiplasminogen antibody levels were higher in PR3-ANCA patients (n = 72) than healthy control subjects (n = 63), myeloperoxidase-ANCA patients (n = 34), and patients with idiopathic thrombosis (n = 57; P = 0.001). Of the patients with PR3-ANCA, nine had documented deep venous thrombosis events, five of whom were positive for antiplasminogen antibodies. In summary, capitalizing on interactions with complementary proteins, specifically complementary PR3, this study identified plasminogen as a previously undescribed autoantigen in PR3-ANCA vasculitis.

ANCA patients have T cells responsive to complementary PR-3 antigen.

Some patients with proteinase 3 specific anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (PR3-ANCA) also have antibodies that react to complementary-PR3 (cPR3), a protein encoded by the antisense RNA of the PR3 gene. To study whether patients with anti-cPR3 antibodies have cPR3-responsive memory T cells we selected conditions that allowed cultivation of memory cells but not naïve cells. About half of the patients were found to have CD4+TH1 memory cells responsive to the cPR3(138-169)-peptide; while only a third of the patients had HI-PR3 protein responsive T cells. A significant number of T cells from patients responded to cPR3(138-169) peptide and to HI-PR3 protein by proliferation and/or secretion of IFN-gamma, compared to healthy controls while there was no response to scrambled peptide. Cells responsive to cPR3(138-169)-peptide were not detected in MPO-ANCA patients suggesting that this response is specific. The HLADRB1(*) 15 allele was significantly overrepresented in our patient group and is predicted to bind cPR3(138-169) peptide with high affinity. Regression analysis showed a significant likelihood that anti-cPR3 antibodies and cPR3-specific T cells coexist in individuals, consistent with an immunological history of encounter with a PR3-complementary protein. We suggest that the presence of cells reacting to potential complementary protein pairs might provide an alternative mechanism for auto-immune diseases.

A study of conformational restraints on reactivity of human PR3-specific autoantibodies (ANCA) facilitated through protein folding manipulations of a new recombinant proteinase 3 protein.

Proteinase 3 (PR3)-specific antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (PR3-ANCA) recognize conformational epitopes on PR3. This study evaluates PR3-ANCA target epitopes utilizing a novel recombinant PR3 (rPR3) produced to accommodate manipulations of the N-terminal domain. The rPR3 molecule contains an N-terminus six histidine tag, which can be removed by enterokinase (EK) cleavage of an adjacent EK cleavage site. Once cleaved the remaining amino acids correspond to the mature N-terminus of PR3. This rPR3 can be manipulated to produce three variant forms: tagged rPR3(+his), EK-cleaved (his-tag removed) rPR3(- his), and EK-cleaved, denatured/refolded rPR3(- his/dr) (the proteolytically active form). Patients with clinically positive PR3-ANCA titers (n = 40) were confirmed for reactivity against purchased native PR3 in our system. Controls included 29 healthy volunteers and 34 MPO-ANCA patients. All PR3-ANCA sera samples tested were reactive with one or more forms of the recombinant protein (greater than mean ELISA OD 405 + 2 SDs of controls). Of significance, three sera were reactive with non-active forms only and three others were more reactive with rPR3(- his/dr) than with native PR3. The results of our evaluation of PR3-ANCA sera for reactivity against the three forms of our rPR3 protein uniquely exemplify the diverse array of epitopes within the PR3-ANCA population. This new recombinant form of PR3 should provide a suitable approach to mapping ANCA epitopes using site-directed mutagenesis.

Myeloperoxidase interacts with endothelial cell-surface cytokeratin 1 and modulates bradykinin production by the plasma Kallikrein-Kinin system.

During an inflammatory state, functional myeloperoxidase (MPO) is released into the vessel as a result of intravascular neutrophil degradation. One mechanism of resulting cellular injury involves endothelial internalization of MPO, which causes oxidative damage and impairs endothelial signaling. We report the discovery of a protein that facilitates MPO internalization, cytokeratin 1 (CK1), identified using affinity chromatography and mass spectrometry. CK1 interacts with MPO in vitro, even in the presence of 100% human plasma, thus substantiating biological relevance. Immunofluorescent microscopy confirmed that MPO added to endothelial cells can co-localize with endogenously expressed CK1. CK1 acts as a scaffolding protein for the assembly of the vasoregulatory plasma kallikrein-kinin system; thus we explored whether MPO and high molecular weight kininogen (HK) reside on CK1 together or whether they compete for binding. The data support cooperative binding of MPO and HK on cells such that MPO masked the plasma kallikrein cleavage site on HK, and MPO-generated oxidants caused inactivation of both HK and kallikrein. Collectively, interactions between MPO and the components of the plasma kallikrein-kinin system resulted in decreased bradykinin production. This study identifies CK1 as a facilitator of MPO-mediated vascular responses and thus provides a new paradigm by which MPO affects vasoregulatory systems.

New insights that link microbes with the generation of antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies: the theory of autoantigen complementarity.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Reviewed are recent discoveries that provide insights into novel mechanisms involved in the aetiology and pathology of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCA) disease. RECENT FINDINGS: Gene expression profiles of circulating leukocytes from anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody immunogenesis patients revealed high levels of proteinase 3 (PR3) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) mRNA. Combined with reports of increased expression of these proteins, it appears that increased antigen availability is a pathologic component of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody immunogenesis disease, which might be equally as important as the presence of anti-MPO or anti-PR3 autoantibodies. Genetic predisposition to develop anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody immunogenesis disease may include a polymorphism in the promoter region of the PR3 gene. Signalling pathways affected by anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody immunogenesis binding to neutrophils involve the p21 pathway. Lastly, a topic discussed at length in this review is the seminal observation that PR3-ANCA patients harbour antibodies reactive with a protein produced from PR3-antisense RNA, whose amino acid sequence has homologies with proteins from many microbes and viruses. Delineated in the Theory of Autoantigen Complementarity, it is proposed that the initiator of an autoimmune response is not the autoantigen, but instead is a protein that is 'antisense' or complementary to the autoantigen (e.g. from bacteria or PR3). SUMMARY: The progress in research efforts in the past year, including the identification of complementary proteins as a potential cause of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody immunogenesis, should highly impact future approaches therapeutic intervention.

Autoantigen complementarity: a new theory implicating complementary proteins as initiators of autoimmune disease.

Autoimmune diseases affect approximately 1 in 21 persons in the United States. Treatment often requires long-term cytotoxic therapy. How and why these deleterious diseases occur is unclear. A serendipitous finding in our laboratory using serum from patients with autoimmune vasculitis led us to develop the theory of autoantigen complementarity, a novel concept that may elucidate the etiological and pathogenetic mechanisms underlying autoimmune disease in general. The theory proposes that the inciting immunogen that elicits a cascade of immunological events is not the self-antigen (the autoantigen) or its mimic but rather a protein that is complementary in surface structure to the autoantigen; that is, a protein homologous or identical to the amino acid sequence of translated antisense RNA from the noncoding strand of the autoantigen gene. The cascade begins when this complementary protein initiates the production of antibodies that in turn elicit an anti-antibody or anti-idiotypic response. These anti-idiotypic antibodies can now react with the autoantigen. Strikingly, homology search of complementary proteins yields microbial and fungal proteins, thus indicating that invading micro-organisms can deliver the inciting immunogen. Curiously, approximately 50% of our patients transcribe the complementary protein's antisense RNA. If it transpires that these aberrant RNAs are translated, the complementary protein would be produced by the individual. Here we review published research investigating complementary proteins, anti-idiotypic immune responses, and antisense transcripts, all of which support complementary proteins as initiators of autoimmune disease. In addition, we provide possible microbial and/or fungal organisms that may incite some of the most studied autoimmune diseases. Lastly, we propose mechanisms by which cell-mediated autoimmunity can be triggered by autoantigen complementarity. Based on our data and the contributions of the researchers described in this review, identification of proteins complementary to autoantigens is likely to be informative in most autoimmune diseases. This vein of study is in the early phases; however, we expect "autoantigen complementarity" is an underlying mechanism in many autoimmune diseases.

Circumvention of normal constraints on granule protein gene expression in peripheral blood neutrophils and monocytes of patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated glomerulonephritis.

Granulopoiesis-related genes are distinctively upregulated in peripheral leukocytes of patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCA)-associated glomerulonephritis. Affymetrix microarrays identified the upregulation of nine neutrophilic primary granule genes, including myeloperoxidase (MPO) and proteinase 3 (PR3), plus five secondary granule genes. Coordinate expression of granulocyte maturation marker CD35, measured by TaqMan PCR, and positive in situ staining for PR3 transcripts in polymorphic neutrophils and monocytes indicate that these genes are expressed in "mature" cells. Increased transcripts correlated with disease activity and absolute neutrophil values but not with "left shift," drug regimen, cytokine levels, hematuria, proteinuria, ANCA titer, serum creatinine, gender, or age. Upregulation of PR3 and MPO transcripts was specifically associated with ANCA disease (n = 56) as these changes were not detected in patients with ESRD (n = 25) or systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 17), as determined by TaqMan PCR. This is the first report of this phenomenon in nonneoplastic cells. The data raise the hypothesis that, in addition to the presence of anti-MPO or anti-PR3 autoantibodies, a second critical component in the cause of this disease is the reactivation of once-silenced genes leading to increased antigen availability.

Gene expression profiles of circulating leukocytes correlate with renal disease activity in IgA nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: The goal of these studies was to explore the possibility of using gene expression profiles of circulating leukocytes as a functional fingerprint of nephritic disease activity. METHODS: This feasibility study utilized IgA nephropathy (IgAN) as a model system. Genes differentially expressed in IgAN patients were identified by Affymetrix GeneChip microarrays, and compared with gene expression of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), minimal change disease, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) glomerulonephritis, and with healthy volunteers. Of the genes identified, 15 transcriptionally up-regulated were validated in a larger cohort of patients using TaqMan polymerase chain reaction (PCR). To test whether increased expression of these genes correlated with disease activity, cluster analyses were performed utilizing the TaqMan PCR values. Taking a mathematical approach, we tested whether gene expression values were correlative with kidney function, as reflected by serum creatinine and creatinine clearance values. RESULTS: We identified 15 genes significantly correlative with disease activity in IgAN. This gene signature of IgAN patients' leukocytes reflected kidney function. This was demonstrated in that mathematically generated theoretical values of serum creatinine and creatinine clearance correlated significantly with actual IgAN patient values of serum creatinine and creatinine clearance. There was no apparent correlation with hematuria and proteinuria. The expression levels of this same gene set in ANCA glomerulonephritis or Lupus nephritis patients were not correlative with serum creatinine or creatinine clearance values. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that leukocytes carry informative disease-specific markers of pathogenic changes in renal tissue.

Autoimmunity is triggered by cPR-3(105-201), a protein complementary to human autoantigen proteinase-3.

It remains unclear how and why autoimmunity occurs. Here we show evidence for a previously unrecognized and possibly general mechanism of autoimmunity. This new finding was discovered serendipitously using material from patients with inflammatory vascular disease caused by antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCA) with specificity for proteinase-3 (PR-3). Such patients harbor not only antibodies to the autoantigen (PR-3), but also antibodies to a peptide translated from the antisense DNA strand of PR-3 (complementary PR-3, cPR-3) or to a mimic of this peptide. Immunization of mice with the middle region of cPR-3 resulted in production of antibodies not only to cPR-3, but also to the immunogen's sense peptide counterpart, PR-3. Both human and mouse antibodies to PR-3 and cPR-3 bound to each other, indicating idiotypic relationships. These findings indicate that autoimmunity can be initiated through an immune response against a peptide that is antisense or complementary to the autoantigen, which then induces anti-idiotypic antibodies (autoantibodies) that cross-react with the autoantigen.

Proteinase 3 sidesteps caspases and cleaves p21(Waf1/Cip1/Sdi1) to induce endothelial cell apoptosis.

BACKGROUND: Emerging data raise possibilities of a complex and specific biologic role for leukocyte-derived proteases in substrate processing and in signaling pathways. Neutrophil proteinase 3 (PR3) is a caspase-like protease that enters endothelial cells, cleaves nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), and induces sustained JNK activation, implying that the major cell cycle inhibitor p21 may be inactivated. Cleavage of p21 by caspase-3 is reported to be required for endothelial cell apoptosis. We hypothesized that PR3 may target p21. METHODS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were treated with or without PR3 (5 microg/mL) from 0 hours or up to 8 hours, and analyzed for changes in cell cycle control proteins by immunoblotting, immunofluorescence and flow cytometry. RESULTS: PR3 exposure resulted in cleavage of p21 between Thr80 and Gly81, loss of nuclear p21 by cytoplasmic sequestration and depletion of p21 from cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) complexes. Examination of cyclins D and E, p53, Rb, and p27 revealed a largely nonproliferative expression profile. Cells arrested in G1 were more susceptible to PR3 effects. We examined inflamed human colonic tissue and found a fragment similar in size to that generated by PR3 in HUVEC. Granzyme B, a T-cell homologue of PR3 that cleaves caspase substrates, also cleaves p21 between Asp62 and Phe63. A reported substrate of granzyme B and caspases, Bid, is cleaved by PR3 signifying commonality of substrates among these proteases. CONCLUSION: A theme is developing that the granulocyte protease, PR3, is an exogenous caspase-like molecule that can sidestep intracellular caspase functions at sites of inflammation.