Cross-talk between anti-β₁-adrenoceptor antibodies in dilated cardiomyopathy and Chagas' heart disease

Abstract

Anti-β₁-adrenoceptor autoantibodies, first described in sera of patients with Chagas' disease, are now well documented in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. The following review summarizes the knowledge we have about the structural basis of receptor-antibody interactions, about their mechanisms of action and about their pathogenicity. While the origin of anti-receptor antibodies with agonist-like activity in Chagas' disease might be ascribed to recognition by anti-parasite antibodies of an epitope, localized on the second extracellular loop of the β₁-adrenoceptor, the origin of such antibodies in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy remains unknown. The hypothesis of a similar origin for anti-receptor antibodies in both diseases is forwarded.

• Trypanosoma cruzi
• cross-reactive antibodies
• antibody origin
• pharmacological mechanism
• pathological effects

Acknowledgements

This review was written within the frame of activities of a French–Argentinean collaborative project, funded by ECOS-SECyT grant: Action A05S02, and the Argentinean ANPCyT, Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacion Productiva, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.