Antibodies against human 60 kDa heat shock protein are not associated with cardiovascular disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

• Abstract: BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis is associated with an unexplained increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Antibodies against human 60 kDa heat shock protein (anti-HSP60) are associated with the presence and severity of CVD. OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether anti-HSP60 antibodies are associated with prevalent CVD in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: In a nested case-control design, anti-HSP60 antibody levels were measured in the serum samples of 192 rheumatoid patients. In a regression analysis the association between prevalent CVD and anti-HSP60 antibodies was examined, along with the possible influence on this association of several demographic, rheumatoid arthritis, and CVD related variables. RESULTS: In a random sample of 326 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 48 cases were identified who also suffered from CVD. Three controls per case with rheumatoid arthritis but without CVD (n = 144) were matched for sex, age, disease duration, and smoking habits. A regression analysis showed no significant association between prevalent CVD and anti-HSP60 antibodies (odds ratio = 1.00 (95% confidence interval, 0.997 to 1.004)). After correcting for possible confounding variables, still no association was found. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to the general population, anti-HSP60 antibody titres are not associated with prevalent CVD in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. These findings could be the result of an altered immune response to HSP60 in rheumatoid arthritis.
• Authors: V P van Halm, M C Slot, M T Nurmohamed, J W Cohen Tervaert, B A C Dijkmans, A E Voskuyl (Affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam 1007 MB, Netherlands.)
• Journal: Annals of the rheumatic diseases (Ann Rheum Dis) Vol. 65 Issue 5 Pg. 590-4 (May 2006) ISSN: 0003-4967 [Print] England
• PMID: 16249230 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Autoantibodies
• Biological Markers
• Chaperonin 60

Topics

• Aged
• Arthritis, Rheumatoid (complications, immunology)
• Autoantibodies (blood)
• Biological Markers (blood)
• Cardiovascular Diseases (etiology, immunology)
• Case-Control Studies
• Chaperonin 60 (immunology)
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (methods)
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Regression Analysis
• Risk Factors