Pathogenic roles of anti-C1q antibodies in recurrent pregnancy loss

Kazumasa Ohmura, Kenji Oku*, Tamao Kitaori, Olga Amengual, Ryo Hisada, Masatoshi Kanda, Yuka Shimizu, Yuichiro Fujieda, Masaru Kato, Toshiyuki Bohgaki, Tetsuya Horita, Shinsuke Yasuda, Mayumi Sugiura-Ogasawara, Tatsuya Atsumi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is often considered idiopathic, however excessive complement activation has been observed in pregnancy related manifestations. Anti-C1q antibodies (anti-C1q) are associated with the activation of complement pathway in lupus patients, while it remains unclear in RPL. Firstly, we showed that both the prevalence and titre of anti-C1q were significantly higher in unexplained RPL than in healthy parous individuals. Secondly, we established the murine model of anti-C1q induced pregnancy loss using a monoclonal anti-mouse C1q antibody, JL-1. In mice treated with JL-1, high ratio of pregnancy loss and fetal growth restriction were frequently observed and complement activation occurred. C5a receptor (C5aR) blockade cancelled these pathogenic changes in mice treated with JL-1. In conclusion, our study reveals an association between the prevalence of anti-C1q and RPL. Additionally, our murine model has indicated that anti-C1q can induce reproductive failure, which might be ameliorated by therapy targeting the C5-C5aR axis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)37-44
Number of pages8
JournalClinical Immunology
Volume203
DOIs
StatePublished - 2019/06

Keywords

  • Anti-C1q autoantibody
  • Complement activation
  • Recurrent pregnancy loss

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Immunology

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