Autoantibodies reactive to adrenocorticotropic hormone can alter cortisol secretion in both aggressive and nonaggressive humans.

ABSTRACT: Violent aggression in humans may involve a modified response to stress, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Here we show that naturally present autoantibodies reactive to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) exhibit distinct epitope-binding profiles to ACTH peptide in subjects with a history of violent aggression compared with controls. Namely, while nonaggressive male controls displayed a preferential IgG binding to the ACTH central part (amino acids 11-24), subjects who had committed violent acts of aggression had IgG with increased affinity to ACTH, preferentially binding to its N terminus (amino acids 1-13). Purified IgGs from approximately half of the examined sera were able to block ACTH-induced cortisol secretion of human adrenal cells in vitro, irrespective of the

SUBMITTER: Væroy H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6048475 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature