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Discover how PEPperPRINT Peptide Microarray products have been used in different fields of research.

Anti-COX-2 Autoantibody is a Novel Marker of Immune Aplastic Anemia

Kelkka, Tiina; Tyster, Mikko; Lundgren, Sofie; Feng, Xingmin; Kerr, Cassandra; Hosokawa, Kohei; Huuhtanen, Jani; Keränen, Mikko; Kawakami, Toru; Patel, Bhavisha; Maeda, Yuka; Nieminen, Otso; Kasanen, Tiina; Aronen, Pasi; Yadav, Bhagwan; Rajala, Hanna; Nakazawa, Hideyuki; Jaatinen, Taina; Hellstrom-Lindberg, Eva; Ogawa, Seishi; Ishida, Fumihiro; Nishikawa, Hiroyoshi; Nakao, Shinji; Maciejewski, Jaroslaw; Young, Neal S.; Mustjoki, Satu
In immune aplastic anemia (IAA), severe pancytopenia results from the immune-mediated destruction of hematopoietic stem cells. Several autoantibodies have been reported, but no clinically applicable autoantibody tests are available for IAA. We screened autoantibodies using a microarray containing > 9 000 proteins and validated the findings in a large international cohort of IAA patients (n = 405) and controls (n = 815). We identified a novel autoantibody that binds to the C-terminal end of cyclo-oxygenase 2 (COX-2, aCOX-2 Ab). 37% of all adult IAA patients tested positive for aCOX-2 Ab, while only 1.7% of the controls were aCOX-2 Ab positive. Sporadic non-IAA aCOX-2 Ab positive cases were observed among patients with related bone marrow failure diseases, multiple sclerosis, and type I diabetes, whereas no aCOX-2 Ab seropositivity was detected in the healthy controls, in patients with non-autoinflammatory diseases or rheumatoid arthritis. In IAA, anti-COX-2 Ab positivity correlated with age and the HLA-DRB1*15:01 genotype. 83% of the > 40 years old IAA patients with HLA-DRB1*15:01 were anti-COX-2 Ab positive, indicating an excellent sensitivity in this group. aCOX-2 Ab positive IAA patients also presented lower platelet counts. Our results suggest that aCOX-2 Ab defines a distinct subgroup of IAA and may serve as a valuable diagnostic tool.

Increased neutralization and IgG epitope identification after MVA-MERS-S booster vaccination against Middle East respiratory syndrome

Fathi, Anahita; Dahlke, Christine; Krähling, Verena; Kupke, Alexandra; Okba, Nisreen M. A.; Raadsen, Matthijs P.; Heidepriem, Jasmin; Müller, Marcel A.; Paris, Grigori; Lassen, Susan; Klüver, Michael; Volz, Asisa; Koch, Till; Ly, My L.; Friedrich, Monika; Fux, Robert; Tscherne, Alina; Kalodimou, Georgia; Schmiedel, Stefan; Corman, Victor M.; Hesterkamp, Thomas; Drosten, Christian; Loeffler, Felix F.; Haagmans, Bart L.; Sutter, Gerd; Becker, Stephan; Addo, Marylyn M.
Vaccine development is essential for pandemic preparedness. We previously conducted a Phase 1 clinical trial of the vector vaccine candidate MVA-MERS-S against the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), expressing its full spike glycoprotein (MERS-CoV-S), as a homologous two-dose regimen (Days 0 and 28). Here, we evaluate a third vaccination with MVA-MERS-S in a subgroup of trial participants one year after primary immunization. A booster vaccination with MVA-MERS-S is safe and well-tolerated. Both binding and neutralizing anti-MERS-CoV antibody titers increase substantially in all participants and exceed maximum titers observed after primary immunization more than 10-fold. We identify four immunogenic IgG epitopes, located in the receptor-binding domain (RBD, n=1) and the S2 subunit (n=3) of MERS-CoV-S. The level of baseline anti-human coronavirus antibody titers does not impact the generation of anti-MERS-CoV antibody responses. Our data support the rationale of a booster vaccination with MVA-MERS-S and encourage further investigation in larger trials.

Automated laser-assisted synthesis of microarrays for infectious disease research

Paris, Grigori; Heidepriem, Jasmin; Tsouka, Alexandra; Mende, Marco; Eickelmann, Stephan; Loeffler, Felix F.
We developed a next-generation method for chemical in–situ combinatorial biomolecule array synthesis. This allows for an unprecedented combinatorial freedom in the automated chemical synthesis of molecule arrays with very high spot densities. Key feature of this new method is an automated positioning and laser transfer process: Small solid material spots are rapidly transferred from a donor film to an acceptor surface, requiring only minute amounts of materials. The transfer is performed with different and easy-to-produce donor slides. Each donor slide bears a thin polymer film, embedding one type of monomer. The coupling reaction occurs in a separate heating step, where the matrix becomes viscous and building blocks can diffuse within the material and couple to the acceptor surface. Since these transferred material spots are only several nanometers thin, this method allows for a consecutive multi-layer material deposition of e.g. activation reagents and amino acids. Subsequent heat-induced mixing facilitates an in–situ activation and coupling of the monomers. Positioning several of such resin spots, containing different chemical reagents, on top of each other, will enable for the first time in such small dimensions unique chemical synthesis strategies for each spot. Amount and concentration of the deposited materials can be adjusted with the laser parameters. Employing similar arrays, we can analyze the human immune response towards the proteome of different pathogens. We screened several peptide array replicas with different patient sera. The screenings resulted in significant hits in several proteins with interesting implications for future diagnostics and vaccine development.

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