AUTOANTIBODIES TO HEAT-SHOCK PROTEIN60 AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE IN PATIENTS WITH MIXED CONNECTIVE TISSUE DISEASE

Background: Heat Shock Proteis (HSP) are intracellular proteins conserved in the course of evolution. Resulting from the antigenic homology of various species, HSP60 and antibodies produced against them can provoke inflammation. Several studies have confirmed that antibodies produced against HSP can facilitate the occurence of atherosclerosis in autoimmune diseases. Objectives: The authors analysed the presence of anti-HSP antibodies and their correlation with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in 30 MCTD patients. Methods: The serum level of HSP60 antibodies was measured in the serum of thirty MCTD patients at the Division of Clinical Immunology. Fifteen out of the thirty patients had cardiovascular (CVD) disease. The antibodies were detected by ELISA assay. The lipid parameters, beside the paraoxonase activity, also identified the anti-U1RNP antibody, the antibody against endothelial cell (AECA), the anti-cardiolipin (anti-CL), the endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels and the intima-media (IMT) thickness. Results: The level of anti-HSP60 antibodies was higher in the serum of patients with MCTD than in the control group (control and all MCTD: 104.0 (69.0-173.0) OD vs. 173.0 (125.0-265.0) OD, p<0.016). The CVD positive patients had a higher anti-HSP60 level than the CVD negative ones (MCTD CVD positive and CVD negative: 259.0 (176.0-316.0) OD, vs. 137.0 (84.0-157.0) OD, p=0.0013). The MCTD patients' HDL cholesterol level (p=0.024) and their paraoxonase acitivity were lower than those of the control group. The anti-U1RNP (p<0.0022) serum level and the IMT were also higher in the control group (p=0.002). The CVD positive patients' serum concentration of anti-HSP60 (p<0.0013), anti-CL IgG (p=0.0005) the ET-1 (p<0.05), and IMT (p<0.001) were significantly higher than that of the CVD negative control group. A close correlation was found between the anti-HSP60 antibody and the AECA (r=0.36, p=0.01) and between the serum levels of anti-HSP60 and ET-1 (r=0.62, p<0.001) Conclusions: The presence of anti-HSP60 antibody showed a strong correlation in MCTD with CVD disease, endothelial injury, IMT value and can be considered an atherosclerotic risk factor in MCTD patiens. References: 1. Prohaszka Z, Furst G: Immunological aspects of heat-shock proteins-the optimum stress of life. Mol Immunol 2004; 41: 29-44 2. Bodolay E, Seres I, Szodoray P, Csipo I, Jakab Zs, Vegh J, Szilagyi A, Szegedi Gy, Paragh G: The evaluation of paraoxonase (PON) activity in patients with mixed connective tissue disease. J Rheumatol 2008. 35 (2): 237-43 3. Zhu J, Quyyumi AA, Rott D: Antibodies the human heat-shock protein 60 are associated with the presence and severity of coronary artery disease: evidence for and autoimmune component of atherogenesis. Circulation 2001; 103: 1071-75 Disclosure of Interest: None declared DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.2894Citation: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, volume 73, supplement 2, year 2014, page 1117Session: Diagnostics and imaging procedures (Abstracts accepted for publication )