Preparation of CCP antibodies library in Rheumatoid Arthritis and its clinical application

In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), appearance of antibodies that bind to cyclic peptide containing citrulline has been reported to be correlated with the onset of the RA and its disease progression. We have hypothesized that the identification of auto-antigens of CCP antibodies might clarify the mechanisms of the induction of CCP antibody production and its pathological function in RA, which may lead to reveal the mechanisms of the progression of joint destruction in RA. To this end, we have developed the ISAAC system that identifies auto-antibody-producing human lymphocytes on lymphocyte-chip. By using ISAAC system, we have obtained auto-antibodies from the peripheral blood of patients of autoimmune diseases, and tried to apply ISAAC system to obtain CCP antibodies from RA patients.