Antiphospholipid Antibodies

Dear Colleauges,

Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) are those that are directed against phospholipids—the phosphorus-containing fats that make up our cell membranes. Certain blood proteins interact with phospholipids and the immune complexes produced when proteins and phospholipids interact. The lupus anticoagulant (LA), anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) and anti-beta-2-glycoprotein 1 (anti-β2GPI) antibodies are the three aPLs that are most frequently mentioned which are also known as the classic aPLs. There are a number of non-classic aPLs such as antiphosphatidylserine, antiphosphatidylinositol, antiphosphatidicacid, antiphosphatidylethanolamine, antiphosphatidylglycerol, anti-annexin V or antiprothrombin antibodies. To date, strong evidence indicates the causative factor of some of the aPLs in developing thrombotic events and pregnancy complications (i.e., recurrent miscarriage). In addition, aPLs have been found to be significantly present in patients exhibiting autoimmune or rheumatic diseases like antiphospholipid syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus or Behcet's disease, cancers (i.e., solid or haematologic malignancies), and neurologic conditions like migraine, dementia or epilepsy. This may indicate that the role of aPLs goes far beyond the biomarker role only and may be directly involved in the pathogenesis of various autoimmune disorders. An example of this is that during the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly higher titres of aPLs were observed in patients with COVID-19.

In this Special Issue, we would be inviting researchers to submit their original research or review articles on the aPLs as a mediator or diagnostic tool for different diseases or conditions. We especially appreciate papers on aPLs as potential novel biomarkers in different diseases, aPLs-mediated pathogenesis in different conditions, novel laboratory testing and optimisation of aPLs detection, and clinical, epidemiological or basic-science-oriented investigations on aPLs.

Dr. Md Asiful Islam
Prof. Dr. Przemysław Kotyla
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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