Rabbit Anti-Human TPH2 Polyclonal antibody

Patients with autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1 (APS-1) frequently have autoantibodies directed against the aromatic amino acid hydroxylases tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). We aimed to characterize these autoantibodies with regard to their antigenic determinants, their influence on enzymatic activity and their clinical associations. In particular, we wanted to compare autoantibodies against the two different isoforms of TPH, which display different tissue distribution. Using sera from 48 Scandinavian APS-1 patients we identified 36 patients (75%) with antibodies against one or more of these three enzymes. Antibodies against TPH1, but not TPH2, were associated with malabsorption in the whole Scandinavian cohort, while TH antibodies were associated with dental enamel hypoplasia in Norwegian patients. Subsequent experiments with selected patient sera indicated that while the C-terminal domain was the immunodominant part of TPH1, the epitopes of TPH2 and TH were mainly located in the N-terminal regulatory domains. We also identified a TPH1 specific epitope involved in antibody mediated inhibition of enzyme activity, a finding that provides new insight into the enzymatic mechanisms of the aromatic amino acid hydroxylases and knowledge about structural determinants of enzyme autoantigens. In conclusion, TPH1,TPH2 and TH all have unique antigenic properties in spite of their structural similarity. (C) 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

A decreased level of brain 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) has been theorized to be a core pathogenic factor in depression for half a century. The theory arose from clinical observations that drugs enhancing extracellular levels of 5-HT (5-HTExt) have antidepressant effects in many patients. However, whether such drugs indeed correct a primary deficit remains unresolved. Still, a number of anomalies in putative biomarkers of central 5-HT function have been repeatedly reported in depression patients over the past 40 years, collectively indicating that 5-HT deficiency could be present in depression, particularly in severely ill and/or suicidal patients. This body of literature on putative 5-HT biomarker anomalies and depression has recently been corroborated by data demonstrating that such anomalies indeed occur consequent to severely reduced 5-HTExt levels in a mouse model of naturalistic 5-HT deficiency, the tryptophan hydroxylase 2 His(439) knockin (Tph2KI) mouse. In this review, we will critically assess the evidence for 5-HT deficiency in depression and the possible role of polymorphisms in the Tph2 gene as a causal factor in 5-HT deficiency, the latter investigated from a clinical as well as preclinical angle.