Table 1.
Characteristics of bacterial immune responses in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis (see [33, 34, 41, 42]).
| Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) | Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) | |
|---|---|---|
| Disease-triggering bacteria | Proteus mirabilis | Klebsiella pneumoniae |
| Bacterial antigens | Hemolysin; Urease | Nitrogenase; Pullulanase |
| Self-antigens* | HLA-DR4/1; collagen XI | HLA-B27; collagens I, III and IV |
| Antibody isotypes | IgG | IgA and IgG |
| Source of bacterial infections | Upper urinary tract | Large bowel |
| Bacterial isolations | P. mirabilis isolated more significantly from urine of active RA patients | K. pneumonia microbes are more abundant in the large bowel of active AS patients |
| Evidence for cytotoxic activities | Proteus antibodies are cytotoxic to cells coated with crossreactive self antigens | Klebsiella antibodies are cytotoxic to cells coated with crossreactive self antigens |
| Countries** | England; Ireland; Scotland; USA; Canada; France; Norway; Bermuda; Japan; Taiwan; India; Netherlands; Spain; Russia and Finland | England; Scotland; USA; Canada; Slovakia; China; Netherlands; Turkey; Japan; Finland; Sweden; Mexico; Germany; Taiwan; India; Russia; Spain |
| Microbial controlsΔ | Klebsiella, Escherichia, Yersinia, Salmonella, Chlamydia, Shigella, Pseudomonas, Campylobacters, and viruses | Proteus, Escherichia, Yersinia, Salmonella, Streptococci, Borrelia, Pseudomonas, Candida, and Campylobacters |
| Disease controlsΔΔ | AS, systemic lupus erythematosus, sarcoidosis, acute anterior uveitis, spondyloarthropathy | RA, psoriatic arthritis, osteoarthritis, reactive arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus |
* Self-antigens crossreactive with the corresponding bacterial antigens
**Countries with recruited cohort patients showing elevated levels of antibodies against Proteus (in RA), Klebsiella (in AS) as well as against the corresponding crossreactive self-antigens
ΔMicrobial agents used as controls but showing no enhanced humoral immune responses in patients with RA or AS
ΔΔDisease controls showing normal immune responses to Proteus (in RA) and Klebsiella (in AS).