This application addresses broad Challenge Area (04) Clinical Research and specific Challenge Topic 04-AR-101 Autoimmunity for Diseases of Skin, Joints, Muscles and Other Tissues. It is estimated that approximately 5% of the US population is affected by an autoimmune disorder such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), or multiple sclerosis (MS). These conditions cause considerable morbidity and excess mortality, as well as direct and indirect health care costs in the tens of billions of dollars. The diagnosis of these conditions is often difficult, requiring multiple visits to medical specialists, and the interpretation of imperfect tests. Even when the diagnosis is certain, the tools to offer prognosis or personalize therapy are often lacking. The overall goal of this project is to rapidly and thoroughly evaluate a novel technology for the measurement of antibodies specific for SLE, a model for systemic autoimmunity. The technology is based on the ability of synthetic polymers of N-substituted glycine termed 'peptoids'to serve as specific ligands for immunoglobulin.
Two specific aims will be undertaken: 1) Validation of a novel technology platform for IgG biomarker discovery using systemic lupus erythematosus as a model, and 2) Determine the ability of peptoid ligands to identify pre-clinical autoimmunity. To accomplish these aims, highly specific peptoid ligands will be synthesized, purified and attached to fluorescent beads to create a high-throughput screening platform. They will then be used to measure and characterize autoantibodies from subjects with clinically evident SLE as well as those with early or incomplete forms of the disease. Together, the results of this study will lead to the development of new tools for clinicians and clinical researchers to use in the assessment of autoimmune diseases.

Public Health Relevance

Autoimmune diseases are common causes of illness that are difficult to diagnose and monitor. This study will test a completely new method to monitor changes in the composition of the blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Using this as a model system, it is hoped that other autoimmune diseases will benefit from early diagnosis and treatment.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Type
NIH Challenge Grants and Partnerships Program (RC1)
Project #
1RC1AR058817-01
Application #
7842417
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-IDM-C (58))
Program Officer
Mancini, Marie
Project Start
2009-09-21
Project End
2011-08-31
Budget Start
2009-09-21
Budget End
2010-08-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$488,779
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Texas Sw Medical Center Dallas
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
800771545
City
Dallas
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
75390
Quan, Jiexia; Lakhanpal, Akshai; Reddy, M Muralidhar et al. (2014) Discovery of biomarkers for systemic lupus erythematosus using a library of synthetic autoantigen surrogates. J Immunol Methods 402:23-34