Madison Area Lyme Support Group

Abstract

Our previous studies showed that anti-citrate synthase (a-CS) IgM natural autoantibodies are present in healthy individuals without previous antigen stimulation, but no studies have investigated their presence in the pericardial fluid (PF). Therefore we detected the natural anti-CS IgG/M autoantibody levels in plasma and PF of cardiac surgery patients and investigated their relationship with cardiovascular disease-associated bacterial pathogens. PF and blood samples of 22 coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and 10 aortic valve replacement (AVR) patients were tested for total Ig levels, natural autoantibodies and infection-related antibodies using ELISA and Luminex methods. The B cell subsets were measured by flow cytometry. The total Ig subclass levels were 4-8 times lower in PF than in plasma, but the natural anti-CS IgM autoantibodies showed a relative increase in PF. The frequency of CD19+ B lymphocytes was significantly lower in PF than in blood (P=0.01) with a significant relative increase of B1 cells (P=0.005). Mycoplasma pneumoniae antibody positive patients had significantly higher anti-CS IgM levels. In CABG patients we found a correlation between anti-CS IgG levels and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae and Borrelia burgdorferi antibody titers. Our results provide the first evidence that natural autoantibodies are present in the PF and they show significant correlation with certain antibacterial antibody titers in a disease specific manner.

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Chlamydia-like organisms found in ticks:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/10/07/chlamydia-like-organisms-found-in-ticks/

Mycoplasma:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2015/08/12/connecting-dots-mycoplasma/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/16/mycoplasma-and-other-intracellular-bacterial-infections-in-rheumatic-diseases-comorbid-condition-or-cause/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/02/07/mycoplasma-treatment/