Natural Autoantibody Application in Clinical Diagnosis
Natural autoantibodies (NAA) are a group of antibodies which are essential parts of the immune system with a wide range of applications in clinical diagnosis. As a pioneer and undisputed global leader in the antibody research field, Creative Biolabs has long-termly devoted to the development and applications of NAA. With years of research experience, now we are able to provide services on NAA related research as biomarkers based on our professional staff and powerful technology.
NAA for Clinical Diagnosis
Natural autoantibodies (NAA) are a kind of antibodies produced by B-lymphocyte cells without any external antigen stimulation. It is an indispensable part naturally existing in human body fluid. Therefore, NAA are a type of characterizations to some pathological processes or diseases. In recent years, autoantibodies have been recognized as diagnostic biomarkers for multiple conditions, especially for those autoimmune diseases. They are important diagnostic biomarkers not only for the respective autoimmune disease but also for the disease at early stages or disease without the typical clinical manifestations. Why NAA can serve as a biomarker for diagnosis:
- High disease specificity
- High-affinity for target antigens
- Easy detection based on autoantibody profile technologies
- Also useful in disease prediction, prognosis, and prevention
Fig.1 Clinical care pathway using an early diagnosis of SSc and autoantibody testing. (Choi, 2016)
Challenges for NAA Clinical Diagnosis
NAA diagnosis is different from other laboratory diagnostics mainly due to the biological heterogeneity of autoantibody response, which is manifested as autoantibody isotype, affinity, epitope specificity, intra- and intermolecular epitope spreading heterogeneity even in the same diseases. However, several challenges of NAA diagnosis need to fulfill (Conrad, 2012). Firstly, searching for novel clinically relevant autoantibodies due to few autoantibodies can be used alone to diagnose an autoimmune disease. Then, standardized diagnostic procedures must be established including disease-targeted stepwise multi-parametric testing to obtain steady diagnostic variables of clinically relevant NAA.
NAA as Diagnostic Biomarkers
Numerous NAA targets have been discovered in recent years, which may be potential clinical indicators for diseases diagnosis. Besides diagnostic biomarkers for autoimmune diseases, novel findings on NAA-related diseases diagnosis have been demonstrated. For example, voltage-gated potassium channel complex (VGCC), NMDAR, GluR3 in neurological diseases, nucleophosmin (NPM)1, DNA topoisomerase II, nucleoside diphosphate kinase A, etc. in cancers, sarcolemmal antibody (ASA), Anti-myolemma antibody (AMLA), fibrillary antibody (AFA) in cardiovascular diseases. Creative Biolabs has abundant experience in NAA researches, for detailed information you can refer to NAA associated diseases and biomarkers.
Fig.2 Flowchart of autoantibody biomarker discovery and detection in breast cancer using antigen arrays and ELISA. (Qiu, 2018)
As an important component of the immune system, NAA has been extensively researched and applied in diagnostic tests for decades of years. Creative Biolabs has gained good reputations in providing a full range of quality services and competitive price on NAAs' application in clinical diagnosis based on our Ph.D. scientists and first-in-class technologies. Just contact us for more detailed information.
References:
- Choi, M.Y.; Fritzler, M. Progress in understanding the diagnostic and pathogenic role of autoantibodies associated with systemic sclerosis. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. 2016, 28(6):586-594.
- Conrad, K.; et al. Autoantibody diagnostics in clinical practice. Autoimmunity Reviews. 2012, 11(3):207-211.
- Qiu, J.Y.; et al. Autoantibodies as Potential Biomarkers in Breast Cancer. Biosensors. 2018, 8(67).