Autoantibodies in Thromboangiitis Obliterans (Buerger's Disease)

Abstract

Autoantibodies, organ and non-organ specific, were studied in 10 patients of thromboangiitis obliterans by immunofluorescence technique and compared with age matched controls without peripheral vascular disease and patients of other peripheral vascular diseases. Organ specific autoantibodies (various classes of immunoglobulins IgM, IgG, IgA) and C3 component were observed in the diseased vessels of thromboangiitis obliterans. Antibodies, antiarterial, were present in the sera of these patients. Among the non-organ specific antibodies (ANA and AMA), only ANA were found in the sera of patients. Presence of autoantibodies in patients of thromboangiitis obliterans strongly point out of that probably this disease entity is an autoimmune disorder.

The role of autoimmunity in thromboangiitis obliterans (Buerger's disease)

“…9 The functional significance of these antibodies has not been demonstrated, but yet their presence suggest that B cell-mediated, antigen-specific immunity may contribute to TAO. 8 Adar et al determined the cellular and humoral immune responses to human collagen type I and type III, common constituents of blood vessels, in 39 patients with TAO. They observed enhanced cell proliferation to collagen types I, III, and IV in affected patients using an antigen-sensitive thymidine-incorporation assay.…”

“…16 Nonspecific antibodies like antinuclear antibodies (ANA) may also be seen in a minority of TAO cases. 8 There are conflicting data regarding the presence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) in TAO. Schellong et al, using indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIF), did not detect ANCA in any of 30 analyzed cases of TAO.…”

Immunadsorption bei Thrombangiitis obliterans – eine vielversprechende therapeutische Option. Behandlungsergebnisse einer konsekutiven Patientenkohorte der klinischen Routineversorgung

“…Voranschreiten der Erkrankung bzw. der Extremitätenverlustrate, andererseits gibt es zahlreiche immunhistochemische und serologische Hinweise dafür, dass die TAO eine immunmediierte Erkrankung mit humoralen und zellulären Mechanismen darstellt [1,2,[8][9][10][11][12]. Ein definiertes verursachendes Agens oder Antigen konnte bisher jedoch nicht identifiziert werden [2,3,7].…”

Study of Anti‐Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibodies in Patients with Thromboangiitis Obliterans (Buerger’s Disease)

“…Recent advances in the field of autoimmune mechanisms in this disease emphasise its significant role in pathogenesis. In 1982 Gulati et al reported evidence of antiarterial antibodies in TAO [2]. Two research groups, Adar et al (1983) and Hada et al (1993) reported cellular and humoral immune responses to collagen and other vascular components in TAO [3,4].…”