Natural antibodies to nucleic acids

• Published in: Biochemistry (Moscow) Vol. 78; no. 2; pp. 127 - 143
• Main Authors: Buneva, V. N., Krasnorutskii, M. A., Nevinsky, G. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica 01-02-2013; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal diseases; Animals; Antibodies, Catalytic - metabolism; Autoantibodies - blood; Autoimmune diseases; Autoimmune Diseases - blood; Bacterial diseases; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Bioorganic Chemistry; Blood; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Humans; Immune system; Life Sciences; Microbiology; Monoclonal antibodies; Nucleic acids; Nucleic Acids - immunology; Nucleic Acids - metabolism; Review; autoimmune diseases; natural abzymes; antibodies against DNA and RNA; healthy donors
• ISSN: 0006-2979; 1608-3040
• DOI: 10.1134/S0006297913020028

Blood of healthy donors contains low concentrations of autoantibodies to its own components, including DNA and RNA. Increased concentrations of antibodies to DNA and RNA have been found in blood of people and animals with autoimmune diseases and viral and bacterial infections. Detection of different antibodies with catalytic activities, including abzymes with DNase and RNase activities, is the earliest indicator of the development of some autoimmune diseases. This review reveals possible mechanisms of generation of anti-DNA and anti-RNA antibodies without catalytic activities and abzymes in normal organisms and in organisms with different pathologies. A possible role of these autoantibodies and the reasons of their exceptional diversity in normal organisms and in organisms with different autoimmune diseases are discussed.