Anti-mitochondrial antibodies in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (anti-M7) are directed against flavoenzymes with covalently bound FAD

Anti-mitochondrial antibodies (anti-M7) in sera from patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and myocarditis recognize, besides mitochondrial antigens, bacterial sarcosine dehydrogenase. The common target antigen was identified as the covalently bound FAD of mitochondrial and bacterial flavoenzymes. Thus, anti-M7-positive serum reacted on Western blots exclusively with covalently flavinylated enzymes. The antigenic specificity of anti-M7 sera was reproduced by an antiserum raised in rabbits with 6-hydroxy- D -nicotine oxidase. The heart mitochondrial membrane antigen recognized by anti-M7 serum was identified as the flavoprotein subunit of succinate dehydrogenase, the antigens in rat liver mitochondrial matrix as the flavoenzymes dimethylglycine dehydrogenase and sarcosine dehydrogenase. Anti-M7 serum contained a specific anti-flavoenzyme antibody fraction. Nanomolar concentrations of FAD and riboflavin inhibited the immune reaction on Western blots and in ELISA, and incubation with FAD-agarose depleted the anti-M7 activity of the serum. N-terminally deleted dimethylglycine dehydrogenase proteins were only immunoprecipitated by anti-M7 sera when the FAD was covalently incorporated. An affinity constant (K_D) of 10^?8 M was established for the anti-flavoenzyme antibodies by competitive ELISA. Of patients with cardiomyopathy and myocarditis, 36% and 25%, respectively, were anti-flavoenzyme-positive by Western blot and ELISA, but only two of 15 patients with other heart diseases and none of 50 healthy controls.