A Low- density Antigen Array for Detection of Disease- associated Autoantibodies in Human Plasma

Background/Aim: The ability to easily detect autoantibodies will help in the early diagnosis and treatment of certain diseases. Currently, available methods for autoantibody detection are time-consuming and cumbersome. The present study aimed to evaluate the performance of an easy-to-use antigen array developed for autoantibody detection. Materials and Methods: Plasma from 9 female donors diagnosed with ovarian cancer (test group) and 9 matched donors with no history of cancer (reference group) were screened and results were compared. Autoantibody levels ≥1.5-times the background were classified as positive. Results: A total of 29 autoantibodies were detected, out of which the autoantibody against osteoprotegerin was found to be significantly higher in the "test" group (p<0.001) while those against macrophage migration inhibitor factor, interleukin-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor were lower (p<0.05). Conclusion: The evaluated antigen array has potential as a simple method for determining the presence/absence of up to 90 disease-associated autoantibodies in a plasma specimen. The last 15 years has witnessed remarkable efforts in identifying circulating biomarkers that can be used for early detection and accurate diagnosis of diseases such as cancer. A class of protein biomarkers that has attracted significant interest are autoantibodies (1), the high-affinity and high- avidity antibodies produced by the immune system against an individual's own protein(s). Autoantibodies can be found in the blood of both healthy persons and people with disease, and their presence is usually a clear indication of existence of an immune response that may have been triggered by genetic predisposition, hormones, therapeutic drugs or an environmental component including exposure to viruses and toxic chemicals (2). It has been reported that more than 32 million Americans and an estimated 3-5% of the world population have autoimmune disorders of different severities