Assessment of serum antimutated citrullinated vimentin antibodies in rheumatoid arthritis

• Published in: Egyptian Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Vol. 42; no. 2; pp. 62 - 67
• Main Authors: Bilal, Khalid M., Said, Imtithal A., Hasan, Walid A., Hafiz, Shayma M., al-Tanawy, Rifat M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt The Egyptian Society for Rheumatology and Rehabilitation 01-04-2015; Springer Berlin Heidelberg; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Antibodies; antimutated citrullinated vimentin, citrullinated proteins, disease activity (DAS28), rheumatoid arthritis; Diagnosis; Joints; Medicine & Public Health; Original Article; Psoriatic arthritis; Questionnaires; Radiography; Rehabilitation; Rheumatoid arthritis; التشخيص; المفاصل; disease activity (DAS28); rheumatoid arthritis; citrullinated proteins; antimutated citrullinated vimentin
• ISSN: 1110-161X; 2090-3235
• DOI: 10.4103/1110-161X.157862

Background
Early diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) leads to better control and prevents
irreversible joint damage. Antimutated citrullinated vimentin (anti-MCV) is one of the members
of the anticitrullinated antibody family that can function as a serological marker in the early
diagnosis of RA.
Aim of the work
This study aimed to measure serum levels of anti-MCV antibodies and study their relationship
using clinical, laboratory, and radiological findings in RA patients.
Patients and methods
We measured anti-MCV in the serum of 60 RA patients, in 20 patients with psoriatic arthritis,
and in 20 healthy controls. In RA patients, the disease activity score (DAS28) and the
Health Assessment Questionnaire score were used. The immunoglobulin-M rheumatoid
factor titer, anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (anti-CCP) titer, and C-reactive protein
levels were also measured. The hands of RA patients were radiologically scored using
the Larsen method.
Results
In RA patients the mean anti-MCV antibody serum level was 150.83 ± 125.95 U/ml, which
was significantly higher (P < 0.001) compared with the mean serum level in psoriatic arthritis
patients and healthy controls (17.4 ± 10.039 and 17.2 ± 10.63 U/ml, respectively). Serum
levels of anti-MCV antibodies significantly correlated with DAS28 (r = 0.79, P < 0.05), Health
Assessment Questionnaire scores (r = 0.53, P < 0.05), rheumatoid factor titer (r = 0.74,
P < 0.05), anti-CCP antibody titer (r = 0.83, P < 0.05), and Larsen’s score (r = 0.76, P < 0.05).
Conclusion
The significantly elevated anti-MCV antibody levels that are well correlated with RA disease
activity and severity markers are highly suggestive of their potential role in the pathogenesis
of RA. The considerable correlation of anti-MCV antibodies with other autoantibodies would
imply their consistent diagnostic and prognostic role