Inhibiting HLA-B27 homodimer-driven immune cell inflammation in spondylarthritis

Sravan K. Payeli, Simon Kollnberger, Osiris Marroquin Belaunzaran, Markus Thiel, Kirsty McHugh, Joanna Giles, Jacqueline Shaw, Sascha Kleber, Anna Ridley, Isabel Wong-Baeza, Sarah Keidel, Kimiko Kuroki, Katsumi Maenaka, Andreas Wadle, Christoph Renner, Paul Bowness

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

47 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective. Spondylarthritides (SpA), including ankylosing spondylitis (AS), are common inflammatory rheumatic diseases that are strongly associated with positivity for the HLA class I allotype B27. HLA-B27 normally forms complexes with β2-microglobulin (β2m) and peptide to form heterotrimers. However, an unusual characteristic of HLA-B27 is its ability to form β2m-free heavy chain homodimers (HLA-B272), which, unlike classic HLA-B27, bind to killer cell immunoglobulinlike receptor 3DL2 (KIR-3DL2). Binding of HLA-B272 to KIR-3DL2-positive CD4+ T and natural killer (NK) cells stimulates cell survival and modulates cytokine production. This study was undertaken to produce an antibody to HLA-B27 2 in order to confirm its expression in SpA and to inhibit its proinflammatory properties. Methods. We generated monoclonal antibodies by screening a human phage display library positively against B272 and negatively against B27 heterotrimers. Specificity was tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assay, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis of B272- expressing cell lines and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and synovial fluid mononuclear cells (SFMCs) from patients with SpA. Functional inhibition of KIR-3DL2-B272 interactions was tested using cell lines and PBMCs from patients with SpA. Results. Monoclonal antibody HD6 specifically recognized recombinant HLA-B272 by ELISA and by SPR assay. HD6 bound to cell lines expressing B272. FACS revealed binding of HD6 to PBMCs and SFMCs from patients with AS but not from controls. HD6 inhibited both the binding of HLA-B272 to KIR-3DL2 and the survival and proliferation of KIR-3DL2- positive NK cells. Finally, HD6 inhibited production of the proinflammatory disease-associated cytokine interleukin-17 by PBMCs from patients with AS. Conclusion. These results demonstrate that antibody HD6 has potential for use in both the investigation and the treatment of AS and other B27-associated spondylarthritides.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3139-3149
Number of pages11
JournalArthritis and Rheumatism
Volume64
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2012
Externally publishedYes

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