ANTIBODIES AGAINST YERSINIA-ENTEROCOLITICA IN PATIENTS WITH REITERS-SYNDROME

  • 1 January 1985
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 105  (3) , 380-389
Abstract
Reiter''s syndrome can be induced by several different bacteria. A frequent cause in Finland is Y. enterocolitica serotypes 03 and 09, but these strains are rarely found in the USA. Although this does not exclude the posibility that USA patients with Reiter''s syndrome have been infected with Yersinia, it is more likely that they develop Reiter''s syndrome as a consequence of infection by non-Yersinia arthritis-causing organisms that share certain determinants with Yersinia organisms. Radioimmunoprecipitation and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were used to analyze the serum antibodies against 125I-labeled, detergent-solubilized serotype 03 Y. enterocolitica. Most serum samples of USA subjects precipitate 3 to 5 radioactively labeled Yersinia molecules. A Yersinia antigen of 88K appeared to be of possible discriminatory value. Protein A-reacting antibodies directed against this antigen were detected in only 2 of 25 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and only 7 of 44 normal control subjects, compared with 8 of 27 patients with Reiter''s syndrome (P < 0.005) and 8 of 16 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (P < 0.01). Despite the relatively rare occurrence of Y. entercolitica serotypes 03 and 09 infection in the USA, examination of the immune response to the serotype 03 Yersinia strain is a promising approach to the study of Reiter''s syndrome in the USA.