Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) comprise a unique form of non-apoptotic cell death exhibited by neutrophils, which occurs in a stepwise process termed NETosis. It has been postulated that NETosis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum levels of NET remnants in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as well as potential associations between NET remnants and indicators of RA.
Serum levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO)-DNA complexes (NET remnants) were examined in 74 RA patients and 50 healthy controls using a modified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Associations between the levels of these complexes and indicators of RA were then statistically evaluated.
RA patients exhibited significantly higher levels of MPO-DNA complexes than the healthy controls, and these levels were associated with increased neutrophil counts and positivity for rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-citrullinated protein/peptide antibodies (ACPA). Among the 63 ACPA-positive RA patients examined, those with ACPA titers > 1600 U/mL showed significantly increased MPO-DNA levels. Receiver operating characteristic analysis determined that the area under the curve for all 74 RA patients was 0.798, with a sensitivity of 91.9% and a specificity of 56.0%, while that for the ACPA-negative patients was 0.891, with a sensitivity and specificity of 81.8% and 84.0%, respectively.
The results of this study suggest that the disease status of RA is associated with increased NETosis. In particular, evaluation of serum MPO-DNA levels may comprise a useful complementary tool for discriminating RA patients from healthy individuals.