Ganglionic acetylcholine receptor autoantibodies in patients with autoimmune diseases including primary biliary cirrhosis

• Published in: Modern rheumatology 2017-07, Vol.27 (4), p.664-668
• Main Authors: Maeda, Yasuhiro, Nakane, Shunya, Higuchi, Osamu, Nakamura, Hideki, Komori, Atsumasa, Migita, Kiyoshi, Mukaino, Akihiro, Umeda, Masataka, Ichinose, Kunihiro, Tamai, Mami, Kawashiri, Shin-ya, Sakai, Waka, Yatsuhashi, Hiroshi, Kawakami, Atsushi, Matsuo, Hidenori
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Anti-ganglionic acetylcholine receptor antibodies; Autoantibodies - blood; Autoimmune Diseases - blood; Autoimmune Diseases - immunology; Female; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary - blood; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary - immunology; Male; Middle Aged; Primary biliary cirrhosis; Receptors, Cholinergic - immunology; Rheumatoid arthritis; Systemic lupus erythematosus; Systemic sclerosis
• ISSN: 1439-7595; 1439-7609
• DOI: 10.1080/14397595.2016.1226469

Objectives: Autonomic dysfunction is closely associated with autoimmune diseases (AID) including primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of anti-ganglionic (nicotinic) acetylcholine receptor (gAChR) antibodies in patients with AID. Methods: We determined the presence of gAChR antibodies in serum samples from 146 patients (systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE] = 32; rheumatoid arthritis [RA] = 43; systemic sclerosis [SSc] = 38; PBC= 33) without information regarding autonomic symptoms, as well as 34 patients with other neurological diseases [OND], and 73 healthy controls [HC]. We specifically analyzed sera for anti-gAChRα3 and -β4 antibodies using the luciferase immunoprecipitation system (LIPS) assay. Results: LIPS assay detected anti-gAChRα3 and -β4 antibodies in the sera from patients with SLE (12.5%, 4/32), RA (18.6%, 8/43), SSc (13.2%, 5/38), PBC (9.1%, 3/33), OND (2.9%, 1/34), and HC (0.0%, 1/73). There were no significant correlations between the levels of anti-gAChRα3 and -β4 antibodies, and the total titers of autoantibodies in AID. Conclusions: The results demonstrated a significant prevalence of anti-gAChR antibodies in patients with AID, which is independent of the production of other autoantibodies in patients with autoimmune diseases. These anti-gAChR antibodies could mediate the autonomic dysfunction involved in the autoimmune mechanisms of AID.