Relationship between autoantibody epitopic recognition and immunoglobulin gene usage

An immunodominant region recognized by serum autoantibodies has been defined on the autoantigen thyroid peroxidase (TPO) using recombinant human TPO-specific Fab or a panel of mouse MoAbs. We have now analysed the epitopic relationships between the four recombinant Fab that identify the A and B domains of the TPO immunodominant region and (i) the mouse TPO MoAb as well as (ii) nine new TPO-specific Fab isolated independently. Competition between mouse MoAbs and recombinant Fab for binding to 125I-TPO revealed three patterns. First, for MoAbs 15, 59, 64 and 18, TPO binding was virtually abolished (≈ 90%) by Fab which define the A domain of TPO, with less inhibition by B domain Fab. Second, for MoAbs 2, 9 and 47, the Fab competed much less for TPO binding, and, when detectable, inhibition was predominantly with B domain Fab (65–20%). Third, for MoAbs 53, 30, 1, 24 and 40, none of the Fab competed effectively for 125I-TPO binding. Thus, the epitopes for MoAbs 18, 59, 64 and 15 correspond to those of the A domain defined by the human Fab, and the epitopes for MoAbs 2, 9 and 47 correspond to those of the B domain. In the second part of the study, competition studies demonstrated that the epitopes of nine new Fab corresponded to those of the four Fab that define the immunodominant region. For four new Fab, TPO binding was inhibited to a greater extent by B- than by A- domain Fab (65–95% versus < 50%). In contrast, for five new Fab the A-domain Fab were more effective inhibitors (≈ 90%) than the B-domain Fab. In addition, consistent with previous observations, all five new Fab with 02/012 κ L chains, but none of the new Fab with non-O2/O12 l chains, interacted with A-domain epitopes. In conclusion, we have established the epitopic relationships between recombinant human Fab and mouse MoAbs that define the TPO immunodominant region on TPO. Further, analysis of recombinant TPO Fab isolated from patients on three continents strengthens the paradigm of a relationship between autoantibody epitopic recognition and immunoglobulin gene usage.