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

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Antigene array; autoantibody detection; autoimmune disease; ovarian cancer; plasma.