Abstract
Purpose::
The aim of this study was to demonstrate that complex patterns of IgG antibodies against retinal antigens in sera of patients with glaucoma, found in previous studies, are autoantibodies against human antigens.
Methods::
Sera of 179 patients were analyzed: non-glaucomatous control patients (n=45), primary open-angle glaucoma (n=45), ocular hypertension (n=44), and normal tension glaucoma patients (n=45). The sera were tested against Western blots of human retinal antigens. Immunodetection was performed using chloronaphthol staining. IgG antibody patterns were analyzed by multivariate statistical techniques and the most significant antigens were identified by mass spectrometry.
Results::
All subjects, even healthy ones, showed different and complex banding patterns. All glaucoma groups showed up- and down-regulations of antibody reactivities compared to the control group. The multivariate analysis of discriminance found a significant difference (P<0.05) in IgG antibody profiles between the glaucoma groups, ocular hypertension and healthy subjects against human retinal antigens.The antigen band at 12 kDa was identified as Histone H4 via mass spectrometry, the 29 kDa band as cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein, and at 49 kDa as retinal S-antigen.
Conclusions::
Using human retinal antigen we demonstrated in this study that complex antibody patterns against bovine retinal antigens which we found in previous studies are autoantibodies and not only antibody cross reactivities against bovine material.
Keywords: retina • autoimmune disease • intraocular pressure