Evidence linking the 68 kilodalton antigen identified in progressive sensorineural hearing loss patient sera with heat shock protein 70

• Published in: Annals of otology, rhinology & laryngology Vol. 104; no. 3; p. 181
• Main Authors: Billings, P B, Keithley, E M, Harris, J P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-03-1995
• Subjects: Animals; Autoantibodies - immunology; Autoantigens - chemistry; Autoantigens - immunology; Autoantigens - isolation & purification; Brain - immunology; Cattle; Cell Line; Ear, Inner - immunology; Electrophoresis; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural - blood; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural - immunology; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins - immunology; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins - isolation & purification; Humans; Immunoblotting; Kidney - immunology; Molecular Weight
• ISSN: 0003-4894
• DOI: 10.1177/000348949510400302

Immunoblotting against bovine inner ear extracts has previously identified a 68 kd antigen reactive with 22% to 58% of sera of patients with rapidly progressive sensorineural hearing loss (PSNHL) of suspected autoimmune causation. Efforts to purify and characterize this diagnostic antigen suggest that it is ubiquitous rather than inner ear-specific, and may represent the highly inducible heat shock protein (hsp) 70. The antigens identified by PSNHL sera and anti-hsp 70 monoclonal antibodies copurify on ion exchange and adenosine triphosphate affinity chromatography, and comigrate on one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Additionally, immunoblotting with positive patient sera shows dramatically increased expression of the 68 kd antigen by bovine kidney cells following heat shock in culture. Reactivity with stress proteins of various classes has been reported in a number of autoimmune diseases; however, anti-hsp 70 appears uniquely associated with ulcerative colitis and PSNHL.