Mapping epitopes of U1-70K autoantibodies at single-amino acid resolution

The U1-70K protein is the predominant target of RNP autoantibodies, and the RNA binding domain has been shown to be the immunodominant autoantigenic region of U1-70K, although the specific epitopes are not known. To precisely map U1-70K epitopes, we developed silicon-based peptide microarrays with >5700 features, corresponding to 843 unique peptides derived from the U1-70K protein.

The microarrays feature overlapping peptides, with single-amino acid resolution in length and location, spanning amino acids 110–170 within the U1-70K RNA binding domain. We evaluated the serum IgG of a cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE; n = 26) using the microarrays, and identified multiple reactive epitopes, including peptides 116–121 and 143–148. Indirect peptide ELISA analysis of the sera of patients with SLE ( n = 88) revealed that ∼14% of patients had serum IgG reactivity to 116–121, while reactivity to 143–148 appeared to be limited to a single patient.