Neuroantibodies as risk markers for the development of autoimmune processes in case of vibration disease

The aim of the study was to identify the features of changes in the content of neuroantibodies reflecting the risk of developing autoimmune processes in patients with hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), complicated and uncomplicated arterial hypertension (AH). A retrospective study was conducted in a sample of men aged 40 to 60 years with a diagnosed hand-arm vibration syndrome caused by local vibration and in a group comparable per sex and age, including people who worked in conditions that excluded contact with occupational physical factors. Groups of patients with HAVS, complicated and uncomplicated AH have been identified. The levels of autoantibodies to specialized structures of nervous tissue and neurotransmitters were determined in all the examined participants using the ELI-N-Test ("Immunculus", Moscow). The study revealed an increase in the levels of neuronal AT (MBP, S-100, GFAP, NF-200, V-Ca-channel, Glu-R, DA-R, M-OR, B-end) in patients with HAVS, both burdened and uncomplicated hypertension, relative to the comparison group. At the same time, the levels of AT to the opiate M-OR receptors in people with HAVS who were not burdened with hypertension were statistically significantly higher than in patients with comorbid pathology (p = 0.04). Discriminant analysis showed that individuals with HAVS burdened with hypertension were characterized by a decrease in the levels of AT to gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors (F = 8.5, p = 0.001) and to the myelin basic protein (F = 13.7, p = 0.001) in comparison with patients with HAVS without hypertension. The neuron-neuron interaction disorder in patients with AH was manifested by a mismatch of correlations between the levels of autoantibodies to S-100 protein and myelin basic protein (R = 0.29, p > 0.05), voltage-dependent Ca-channel (R = 0.41, p > 0.05), dopamine receptors (R = 0.42, p > 0.05), serotonin (R = 0.33, p > 0.05) and opiates (R = 0.32, p > 0.05). Thus, increased levels of neuronal AT (MBP, S-100, GFAP, NF-200, V- Ca-channel, Glu-R, DA-R, M-OR, B-end) in patients with HAVS, both burdened and uncomplicated hypertension, are markers reflecting the risk of developing autoimmune processes upon exposure to vibration. The reported lower levels of AT to the GABA receptor and the myelin basic protein in patients with HAVS burdened with hypertension, when compared with those with HAVS without hypertension, are apparently due to the peculiarities of the clinical course of the disease and the formation of immune tolerance to these proteins. The obtained results can be used in carrying out diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic measures for people with HAVS, including in the presence of comorbid pathology.