Autoimmunity to the heart in cardiac disease

The worldwide epidemiology of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease

“…These antibodies could subsequently react to, and damage, host tissue without the continued need for streptococci to be present 48. In 1962, Kaplan and colleagues demonstrated a cross-reactivity between human heart tissue and GABHS49 and later anticardiac antibodies in patients with ARF 50. Further study has led to the identification of the M-protein on the GABHS cell membrane as the likely antigen for inducing the production of antibodies that cross-react with human heart tissue.…”

Morphological and Immunological Studies in Valvular Heart Surgery

“…This has also been the case in a number of different clinical studies of other diseases [11,12]. However, the elution of anti-heart antibodies from the myocardium in cases of heart transplantation where an immune reaction existed [13], as well as the results of immunofluorescent studies where bound anti-heart antibodies were found [14] are suggestive of a relationship between the presence of these antibodies and myocardial damage. However, in the present study the lack of any correlation of this sort was very striking.…”

Positive indium-111 leukocyte imaging in post myocardial infarction syndrome

“…The anti-heart muscle antibody screening was thought to be a reliable marker, but it is realized that antibodies are not present in all patients with PMIS and can be seen in many other cardiac conditions. 4,5 And it is known that the antigen made from human infarct myocardium is more sensitive than that from the intact heart of other animals. s In our hospital we used the antigen made from rat myocardium, and that might be one reason for the negative result in our patient.…”