Antiphospholipid antibodies bind ATP: A putative mechanism for the pathogenesis of neuronal dysfunction

Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) generated in experimental animals cross-react with ATP. We therefore examined the possibility that aPL IgG from human subjects bind to ATP by affinity column and an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sera with high levels of aPL IgG were collected from 12 patients with the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). IgG fractions from 10 of 12 APS patients contained aPL that could be affinity-bound to an ATP column and completely eluted with NaCl 0.5 M. A significant (>50%) inhibition of aPL IgG binding by ATP 5 mM was found in the majority. Similar inhibition was obtained with ADP but not with AMP or cAMP. All the affinity purified anti-ATP antibodies also bound β₂-glycoprotein-I (β₂-GPI, also known as apolipoprotein H) suggesting that, similar to most pathogenic aPL, their binding depends on this serum cofactor. We further investigated this possibility and found that the binding of β₂-GPI to the ATP column was similar to that of aPL IgG in that most was reversed by NaCl 0.5 M. Furthermore, addition of β₂-GPI to aPL IgG significantly increased the amount of aPL binding to an ATP column. We conclude that aPL IgG bind ATP, probably through β₂-GPI. This binding could interfere with the normal extracellular function of ATP and similar neurotransmitters.