Abstract
EBV-transformed B cells from a 20-week human fetal spleen and from blood of patients with poststreptococcal rheumatic carditis were studied. Most antibodies from nine fetal and six patient myosin-reactive B cell clones were multireactive (reacting with cardiac myosin, Streptococcus pyogenes, and rat cardiac myocytes) which supports a role for molecular mimicry in stimulation of these autoantibodies. Sequence analysis revealed that fetal and patient anti-myosin repertoires were composed of unrelated clones with diverse V gene usages. Fetal and patient antibodies had reduced V(H) CDR3 length on average and reduced light chain N region addition with a low rate of somatic mutation in the variable region genes, characteristics generally associated with fetal B cells but also with some adult B cells. Five of six myosin-reactive patient clones used V(H)3, whereas only two of nine fetal clones used V(H)3, suggesting skewing from the average 50-60% V(H)3 gene usage found in randomly selected adult and fetal antibodies.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 184-192 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology |
Volume | 87 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 1998 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Autoantibody
- Fetus
- Heart
- Rheumatic fever
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine
- Immunology