Systemic sclerosis & Raynaud's
Anti‐Gephyrin Antibodies: A Novel Specificity in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis and Lower Bowel Dysfunction
Authors' conclusion
Gephyrin is a novel ENS autoantigen that is expressed in human myenteric ganglia. Anti-gephyrin autoantibodies are associated with the presence and severity of constipation in patients with SSc.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) in a SSc cohort; healthy controls
- Participants
- 188 SSc patients
- Exposure
- Anti-gephyrin antibody-positive vs antibody-negative patients with SSc
- Anti-gephyrin antibody-positiven = 16
- Healthy controlsn = 46reference
- Outcome
- Prevalence of anti-gephyrin antibodies and associated clinical features (GI dysfunction)
Methodological detailsautoantibody discovery by immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry, regression analyses, immunohistochemistry
- Autoantibody discovery by immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry
- Regression analyses
- Immunohistochemistry
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Prevalence of anti-gephyrin antibodies
Anti-gephyrin positive
9%
16 events
Healthy controls
0
events
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Severe constipation
P = 0.005
Severe distention/bloating
P = 0.023
| Outcome | Anti-gephyrin positive | Anti-gephyrin negative | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Constipation score | 1.00 | 0.50 | P = 0.02 |
- Anti-gephyrin antibody levels, severe vs no severe constipation · 0.04 vs 0.00
- P = 0.001
- Anti-gephyrin antibody levels, severe vs no severe distention and bloating · 0.03 vs 0.004
- P = 0.010
Severe constipation
- Severe constipation associated with anti-gephyrin antibodies even in the adjusted model
Gephyrin expression in human gastrointestinal (GI) tract
- Gephyrin expressed in the enteric nervous system (ENS), which regulates gut motility
Original publication
Anti‐Gephyrin Antibodies: A Novel Specificity in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis and Lower Bowel Dysfunction. Arthritis Rheumatol. Published 10 November 2023. doi:10.
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