PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G J Kloosterhuis

Publications and source records attributed to G J Kloosterhuis.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

False-negative results in immunoblot assay of serum IgA antibodies reactive with the 180-kDa bullous pemphigoid antigen: the importance of primary incubation temperature.

BACKGROUND: Different subepidermal autoimmune blistering skin disorders are characterized by linear deposition of IgA, sometimes accompanied by linear IgG, along the epidermal basement membrane zone. Identification of the targeted autoantigen is usually attempted by immunoblotting. Although immunoblotting works well for human IgG, the method is less successful for IgA and often no or only faint signals are obtained. OBJECTIVES: To improve the method of immunoblotting for diagnosis of IgA-mediated bullous dermatoses. METHODS: Eleven sera, selected from patients with linear deposition of IgA along the epidermal basement membrane zone in vivo, were tested by immunoblotting for antigen specificity using different primary incubation temperatures. RESULTS: No reliable information regarding IgA antigen specificity was obtained when the primary incubation was undertaken at room temperature. In 10 of 11 sera, IgA bound to the 180-kDa bullous pemphigoid antigen (BP180) when the primary incubation temperature was increased to 37 degrees C. CONCLUSIONS: Primary incubation at room temperature may result in false-negative results in the IgA-BP180 immunoblot assay.

Aged↗

Type XVII collagen (BP180) and LAD-1 are present as separate trimeric complexes.

This study characterized the high molecular mass BP180 complex that is observed when unheated sodium dodecyl sulfate extracts of human skin or keratinocytes are subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting. In heated extracts BP180 is present as a monomer with a molecular weight of 180 kDa, in unheated extracts BP180 runs at a molecular weight position over 500 kDa. By preincubating the unheated extracts at temperatures between 31 degrees C and 40 degrees C, the high molecular weight complex could be "melted" down to monomeric BP180. Under the conditions employed the T1/2 of the dissociation process was between 35 degrees C and 36 degrees C. The temperature resistance of the high molecular weight complex was used to analyze its molecular composition by performing two-dimensional electrophoresis with a "low-temperature" first dimension step and a "high-temperature" second dimension step. Silver staining and immunoblotting of the two-dimensional gels revealed the high molecular weight complex to be composed of solely BP180, indicating that the complex is the nondissociated homotrimeric form of BP180. The 120 kDa linear IgA dermatosis antigen (LAD-1) is an collagenous anchoring filament protein with homology to the extracellular collagenous part of BP180. Two-dimensional immunoblotting showed that LAD-1, as BP180, is also present as a high molecular mass complex and does not form mixed complexes with BP180.

Autoantigens↗

Bullous pemphigoid and linear IgA dermatosis sera recognize a similar 120-kDa keratinocyte collagenous glycoprotein with antigenic cross-reactivity to BP180.

Circulating IgG from a large subset of bullous pemphigoid (BP) patients reacted on immunoblot with a 120-kDa protein in conditioned keratinocyte culture medium and in keratinocyte cell extracts. A protein with a similar molecular weight was recognized by circulating IgA from a subset of patients with linear IgA dermatosis (LAD). Both affinity-purified 120-kDa-specific BP IgG and 120-kDa-specific LAD IgA bound to the roof of salt-split skin. Both proteins recognized are collagenous glycoproteins. Deglycosylation with N-glycosidase F resulted in an identical reduction in molecular weight for both the BP-IgG-recognized protein and the LAD-IgA-recognized protein. Both proteins were equally susceptible to digestion with type VII collagenase. Furthermore, both proteins were absent from conditioned culture medium of keratinocytes from patients with BP180-deficient general atrophic benign epidermolysis bullosa (GABEB). Immunodepletion studies showed that the 120-kDa LAD antigen could be removed from conditioned culture medium by anti-120-kDa BP IgG. Thus these results indicate that these proteins are either highly related or, most probably, identical. A strong antigenic relationship between the 120-kDa protein and the 180-kDa bullous pemphigoid antigen (BP180) was detected by cross-reaction of affinity-purified anti-120-kDa BP patient antibodies to BP180 and cross-reaction of monoclonal anti-180-kDa antibodies to the 120-kDa protein. Notwithstanding this cross-reactivity, the 120-kDa protein also exhibits unique epitopes demonstrated by the nonreactivity of individual anti-120-kDa BP and LAD patient serum with the 180-kDa antigen.

Adult↗

A solid-phase protein assay: quantitation of protein in the nanogram range.

A solid-phase protein assay (SPA) for the determination of protein concentrations in the nanogram range is described. The technique is based on biotinylation of immobilized protein on the solid phase of a microtiter plate and quantitation of the protein-biotin complexes by peroxidase-coupled avidin. Compared to the routinely used Bradford and Lowry protein detection techniques, the described SPA assay is (depending upon the protein assayed) 1000 to 10,000 times more sensitive. Moreover, the SPA assay can be suitable for protein quantitation of samples containing agents which commonly interfere with the routinely used detection techniques. The SPA assay is a valuable addition to the Bradford and the Lowry techniques. Used in combination with an antigen-specific ELISA it gives a reliable ratio of specific versus total protein.

Animals↗