Mass spectrometry-based autoantibody tests for specific diagnosis of autoimmune diseases

Autoimmune diseases are chronic conditions that collectively affect approximately 1 in 10 people in Europe and the US. They are considered as one of the leading causes of mortality in young and middle-aged women. Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) testing is helpful for the clinical diagnosis and classification of a number of autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjögren’s syndrome (SS), systemic sclerosis (SSc), mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) and idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM). The global ANA testing market is experiencing a rapid growth due to rising prevalence of autoimmune disorders and increasing demand for more advanced test solutions. Indeed, individuals who develop an organ-specific autoimmune disease have a high likelihood of developing additional autoimmune disorders. There is a need for new technologies that can evaluate multiple immune reactivities in a small sample volume. One of the major factors hindering the growth of this market are the limitations of the current autoimmune disease diagnostics in terms of accuracy and specificity. Successful tests are those that allow rapid decision making and administration of suitable therapies for treating individuals with autoimmune diseases, especially with the approval of more and more targeted therapies. The identification of novel biomarkers and setup of sensitive tests for simultaneous measurement of multiple autoantibodies are key to reach these goals. KU Leuven is at the forefront of clinical diagnosis of autoimmune diseases and has recently demonstrated proof-of-concept for the use of an in-house developed mass-spectrometry based method for identification of autoantibodies in rheumatic diseases. Such mass spectrometry-based test has the great advantage that it is highly specific, that is allows easy multiplexing and that, in contrast to all other tests available, it measures the interaction between antigen and antibody in fluid phase, which is of utmost importance.

Keywords:anti-nuclear antibody, autoimmune disease, mass spectrometry, diagnosis

Disciplines:Autoimmunity