Biocomputational Analysis of Filaggrin Sequence Repeats for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Sivakumar Prasanth Kumar 1, Saumya K. Patel 1, Yogesh T. Jasrai *1, Himanshu A. Pandya 1 and Pappu Srinivasan 2

1. Department of Bioinformatics, Applied Botany Centre (ABC), University School of Sciences, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad - 380 009, India
2. Department of Bioinformatics, Science Block, Alagappa University, Karaikudi - 630 004, India.

Electronic Journal of Biology, 2012, Vol. 8(2): 29-33

You may access the complete text here: http://www.ejbio.com/pps/2012/29.pdf


Abstract

Anti-citrullinated antibodies are autoantibodies detected in the blood of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in the early stage. These autoantibodies recognize an epitope of citrullinated peptides found on the surface of filaggrin protein and are crossreactive in immune response. Since the expression of filaggrin protein is associated with autoantibodies secretion, it may act as a potential serological marker for the detection of RA in early stage. In the present study, the contribution of filaggrin sequence repeats towards antigenicity was investigated using bioinformatic approaches. The electrostatic potential of citrullinated filaggrin repeats and its antigenicity was found to be the prominent factors for invoking such an immune response.

Keywords: Anti-citrullinated antibodies, epitope, filaggrin sequence repeats, rheumatoid arthritis, electrostatic potential, antigenicity.