Autoantibodies as the hallmark of autoimmunity in clinical practice.

Autoimmune disease is an evolving field propelled by advancements in our understanding of autoantibodies (AAbs) and their critical roles in disease pathogenesis and clinical phenotyping. In recent years, many autoantibodies have been characterized, and their incorporation into clinical practice has provided a valuable tool for the classification, prognosis, and/or monitoring of autoimmune diseases.For those AAbs whose use in clinical practice is well established, historically, methods such as ELISA, immunoprecipitation (IP), western-blot, and immunofluorescence (IFI) have been employed. However, they have some limitations: their single-analyte focus (in the case of the ELISA) or the subjective evaluation (immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence). Recent studies emphasize the limitations of some of these traditional techniques in terms of efficiency and breadth, and highlight the growing need for more comprehensive and rapid testing strategies.Emerging technologies using multi-analyte methods (such as PMAT - particle-based multi-analyte technology) may represent a transformative step forward in AAb detection compared to classical antigen-specific techniques. These systems allow for the simultaneous analysis of multiple AAb specificities using native or recombinant antigenic sources within a single assay.On the other hand, some of the recently discovered AAbs need for further characterization in terms of pathogenicity or clinical relevance. Besides, there are also many patients with autoimmune diseases without detectable AAbs (seronegative gap).To gather further insights into the knowledge of AAbs and their applicability to the clinical practice, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Comparative effectiveness of traditional vs. multi-analyte assays in autoimmune disease diagnosiso Clinical validation and real-world application of multi-analyte autoantibody testing in autoimmune conditionso Assay standardization, reproducibility, and quality control in multi-analyte technologieso Interpretation of complex autoantibody profiles for disease classification, monitoring, and prognosiso Case reports demonstrating the utility of multi-analyte testing in challenging or atypical presentationso Autoantibodies as biomarkers: laboratory testing of nonspecific inflammatory markers and disease‐specific autoantibodieso Insights into the molecular role of autoantibodies in autoimmune pathogenesis, including B cell autoreactivity and coexisting inflammatory signalsThe final goal of this Research Topic falls on exploring the role of autoantibodies as biomarkers in autoimmune diseases focusing on the shift from classical single-analyte autoantibody detection to innovative multi-analyte methods, and the clinical utility of novel autoantibodies. Topic editors: Anaís Mariscal, Juan Irure-Ventura, Eduard Gallardo, María Del Carmen Vegas Sánchez Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79631/autoantibodies-as-the-hallmark-of-autoimmunity-in-clinical-practice