Which Diseases are Majorly Influenced by Free Circulating Antibodies?

[cyentist]

Hello

Can you tell me please in which diseases the solute (free circulating) antibodies are a major factor for their pathogenesis/pathophysiology?

I read that for some diseases, it's mostly some types of cells that trigger/facilitate them and antibodies can be markers only.
Also, I wonder if antibody-receptors are implicated but not soluble antibodies, for some diseases.

Thanks

 

[jim mcnamara]

Inflammatory disease processes may involve antibodies.

For example, atherosclerosis.

Athersclerosis is plaque buildup on artery walls. Diet and lifestyle are the drivers of the disease process.

Antibodies work this way --- this is a simplified version:
When blood lipid levels are out of balance (e.g., LDL ratio to HDL), cholesterol molecules are deposited on artery walls. Instead of going to the liver or to actively dividing cells. Cell membranes in new cells are built from cholesterol and other molecules. Your liver makes cholesterol when the levels are low. So this transport operation is normal. Plaque buildup is not.

Antibodies attack the surface of the tiny cholesterol glob, hardening it. This occurs because antibodies react to free cholesterol (normally LDL and HDL bind to and transport cholesterol and render it harmless). So, the antibodies attack it.

Since arteries flex under hydrostatic pressure from heart beats, eventually the hardened plaque surface fractures and the cholesterol is again exposed to antibodies. This happens over and over.

Once the plaque is formed it can keep growing two ways.
One from more additions of cholesterol,
Another from flexing (flexion is what it is called) the plaque and breaking it open.

So the plaque grows until subsequent rupture completely blocks blood flow. And the person is in big trouble.

LDL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-density_lipoprotein
HDL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-density_lipoprotein

 

[Chatul]

The classic example of an antibody-related disease is myasthenia gravis. Muscle weakness to paralysis, caused by antibodies attaching to and blocking the neuromuscular junction. Usually but not always it's caused by antibodies that bind to the acetylcholine receptor.

https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders...tion/Fact-Sheets/Myasthenia-Gravis-Fact-Sheet