Rapid induction of autoantibodies during ARDS and septic shock.

Background: Little is known about the induction of humoral responses directed against human autoantigens during acute inflammation. We utilized a highly sensitive antibody profiling technology to study autoantibodies in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and severe sepsis, conditions characterized by intensive immune activation leading to multiple organ dysfunction.

Methods: Using Luciferase Immunoprecipitation Systems (LIPS), a cohort of control, ARDS and sepsis patients were tested for antibodies to a panel of autoantigens.

Synthetic biology for translational research.

Synthetic biology involves the engineering of proteins, signaling pathways and even whole organisms using modular designs and formats. A major tool of synthetic biology is artificial gene synthesis, which provides a direct means from a conceptualized DNA sequence to the corresponding physical DNA for the construction of a variety of biological components. To date, synthetic biology has often been used to answer fundamental questions in basic research, but now is poised to greatly enhance translational research.

Antibody-profiling technologies for studying humoral responses to infectious agents.

Analyses of humoral responses against different infectious agents are critical for infectious disease diagnostics, understanding pathogenic mechanisms, and the development and monitoring of vaccines. While ELISAs are often used to measure antibody responses to one or several targets, new antibody-profiling technologies, such as protein microarrays, can now evaluate antibody responses to hundreds, or even thousands, of recombinant antigens at one time. These large-scale studies have uncovered new antigenic targets, provided new insights into vaccine research and yielded an overview of immunoreactivity against almost the entire proteome of certain pathogens.

Extraordinary antigenicity of the human Ro52 autoantigen.

Autoantibody levels to the SSA complex, composed of Ro52 and Ro60 proteins, are commonly measured in the diagnoses of Sjögren's Syndrome (SjS), as well as other rheumatological diseases. One of these proteins, Ro52, is an interferon-inducible member of the tripartite motif family bearing a RING motif functioning as an E3 ligase that ubiquitinates interferon regulatory factor 8 and other proteins. Using Luciferase Immunoprecipitation Systems (LIPS) we explored the antigenicity of Ro52 in detail.