Projects / Programmes
Antiphospholipid syndromes
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 3.01.00 |
Medical sciences |
Microbiology and immunology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| B007 |
Biomedical sciences |
Medicine (human and vertebrates) |
antiphospholipid syndromes, testing for antiphospholipid antibodies, pathogenetic role of antiphospholipid antibodies, therapeutic interventions
Researchers (11)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The research project will address some critical points in the development and understanding of the antiphospholipid syndromes, which are expected to become the most common systemic autoimmune diseases.
A general awareness that different laboratories perform different ELISA methods for the detection of antibodies against the most important protein co-factor ß2-glycoprotein I has led the European expert society to an attempt to standardize these methods (European aPL Forum). Our contribution to these efforst will be an extensive study of certain possible biases regarding the anti-ß2-glycoprotein I ELISA test procedure. Therefore, we will focus on: defining the interactions of the ß2-glycoprotein I antigen with the surface of various microtiter plates, matrix effects and calibration of the measuring system by means of introducing new standards.
It is not yet known whether the initiating antigen for antiphospholipid antibodies production is extrinsic, intrinsic or both. These antibodies are likely to participate in or interfere with soluble protein coagulation pathways which is evidently not the only way of their action. The results of our project will elucidate the role of extrinsic - bovine ß2-glycoprotein I (present as a nutrient) to induce an (auto?)antibody response and a possible non-thrombogenic effect of antibodies against ß2-glycoprotein I particularly in patients with atopy.
There are several clinical questions concerning possible associations of antiphospholipid antibodies and some rarer clinical manifestations. Important additional observations and new definitions of certain illnesess connected with antibodies against ß2-glycoprotein I are expected from expert clinical groups. It is our aim to study different autoimmune diseases (i.e.: juvenile idiopathic artritis, systemic lupus erythematosus), thrombogenic syndromes (cerebral ischemia under the age of 40 years) and atopies (atopic dermatitis) in order to understand different pathogenic potential of antiphospholipid antibodies, probably depending on different antigenic specificities.
