Assessing IgM and IgG Antibody Levels Across Autoimmune Disease Progression
Kayla R. Williams, Katrina Hoyer (PhD), Genevieve Mullins
Autoimmune disease is a condition in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the body. Normally the body launches a response to bacteria and viruses by sending out immune cells to identify and attack the pathogen. In the case of autoimmune disease these cells identify a part of the body as foreign. The body will then release proteins called auto-antibodies that will attack healthy cells. Systemic autoimmune mice, MRL-LPR are known for their induction of auto-antibody mediated immune responses. These mice can be used to track antibody class switching in response to the differentiation of specialized T cell subsets (CD4+ T follicular helpers (Tfh) and CD8+ T follicular cytotoxic (Tfc) cells) that help drive antibody responses. This project aims to track total IgM and IgG antibody levels across time using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA).Using these antibody levels and previously acquired immune cell data, we aim to correlate immune cell changes (particularly of CD4+ tfh and CD8+ tfc) with antibody levels across autoimmune disease progression. We believe antibody levels will increase as CD4+ Tfh arise further leading us to speculate that antibody levels will also increase as CD8+ Tfc arise. This will help to aid the general understanding of CD8+ Tfc impact on autoimmune disease.
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