Detection of antibody mediated inflammatory auto-immune disorders
View Patent ↗The present invention describes a method to detect connective tissue pathologies associated with Graves' disease ophthalmopathy and other antibody mediated inflammatory autoimmune diseases. The detection method comprises obtaining a sample from a patient suffering from an antibody-mediated inflammatory autoimmune disorder and measuring Interleukin 16 (IL-16) or RANTES produced by thyroid associated ophthalmopathy fibroblasts to indicate the presence or severity.
1. A method of detecting thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy in a patient comprising:
obtaining a biological sample from the patient,
isolating IgG from the patient sample,
exposing the IgG to orbital fibroblasts from patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy,
measuring the level of
IL-16 or
RANTES produced by the orbital fibroblasts,
wherein an elevated level of IL-16 or RANTES, as compared to normal control indicates the presence or severity of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy in the patient.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the level of IL-16 or RANTES is measured by an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the patient is human.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the biological sample is selected from the group consisting of:
blood,
synovial fluid,
ascites, and
tissue.