[HTML][HTML] Antibodies to β adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptors in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

M Loebel, P Grabowski, H Heidecke, S Bauer… - Brain, behavior, and …, 2016 - Elsevier
M Loebel, P Grabowski, H Heidecke, S Bauer, LG Hanitsch, K Wittke, C Meisel, P Reinke…
Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2016Elsevier
Infection-triggered disease onset, chronic immune activation and autonomic dysregulation in
CFS point to an autoimmune disease directed against neurotransmitter receptors.
Autoantibodies against G-protein coupled receptors were shown to play a pathogenic role in
several autoimmune diseases. Here, serum samples from a patient cohort from Berlin (n=
268) and from Bergen with pre-and post-treatment samples from 25 patients treated within
the KTS-2 rituximab trial were analysed for IgG against human α and β adrenergic …
Abstract
Infection-triggered disease onset, chronic immune activation and autonomic dysregulation in CFS point to an autoimmune disease directed against neurotransmitter receptors. Autoantibodies against G-protein coupled receptors were shown to play a pathogenic role in several autoimmune diseases. Here, serum samples from a patient cohort from Berlin (n = 268) and from Bergen with pre- and post-treatment samples from 25 patients treated within the KTS-2 rituximab trial were analysed for IgG against human α and β adrenergic, muscarinic (M) 1–5 acetylcholine, dopamine, serotonin, angiotensin, and endothelin receptors by ELISA and compared to a healthy control cohort (n = 108). Antibodies against β2, M3 and M4 receptors were significantly elevated in CFS patients compared to controls. In contrast, levels of antibodies against α adrenergic, dopamine, serotonin, angiotensin, and endothelin receptors were not different between patients and controls. A high correlation was found between levels of autoantibodies and elevated IgG1–3 subclasses, but not with IgG4. Further patients with high β2 antibodies had significantly more frequently activated HLA-DR+ T cells and more frequently thyreoperoxidase and anti-nuclear antibodies. In patients receiving rituximab maintenance treatment achieving prolonged B-cell depletion, elevated β2 and M4 receptor autoantibodies significantly declined in clinical responder, but not in non-responder. We provide evidence that 29.5% of patients with CFS had elevated antibodies against one or more M acetylcholine and β adrenergic receptors which are potential biomarkers for response to B-cell depleting therapy. The association of autoantibodies with immune markers suggests that they activate B and T cells expressing β adrenergic and M acetylcholine receptors. Dysregulation of acetylcholine and adrenergic signalling could also explain various clinical symptoms of CFS.
Elsevier