Squalene Antibodies with Lipid Antigens
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Squalene Antibodies with Lipid Antigens |
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SQE, C30H50, is a hydrocarbon oil naturally produced in plants and animals. It is synthesized in the liver and in the epidermis (Stewart, 1992). In humans, SQE serves as a biosynthetic precursor to all steroids, including cholesterol. Both SQE and cholesterol are transported in the blood on very low density lipoproteins and low density lipoproteins (Koivisto and Miettinen, 1988). Purportedly, Gulf War Syndrome patients vaccinated prior to deployment exhibited antibodies to SQE. Antibodies to SQE were not observed in normal humans (Asa et al., 2000). SQE is a biodegradable oil, and for this reason, it has been used in oil-in-water emulsions in experimental vaccines. MF59 is one such example of a SQE-containing oil-in-water emulsion already licensed in a European-approved influenza vaccine (Flaud) (Higgins et al., 1996). SQE has also been used in vaccines tested for the HIV disease in the U.S. A few people believe that the anthrax vaccine is supplemented with a SQE-containing adjuvant that may have caused an autoimmune disease in Gulf War veterans. However, whatever the arguments for or against squalene as a vaccine adjuvant, none of the vaccines administered to U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf War contained squalene as a vaccine adjuvant. Anthrax vaccine contains aluminum hydroxide as its adjuvant (Office of the U.S. Army Surgeon General, 2000). Matyas et al. (2000) created mAbs to SQE by immunization of mice with formulations containing SQE. However, the specificity of these antibodies has not been described. In this study, 19 out of 19 mAbs to SQE have been shown to cross-react with at least one lipid antigen other than SQE. This suggests that antibodies to other lipids may also cross-react with SQE. Since Asa et al. (2000) did not assay for antibodies to other lipids, their purported anti-SQE activity may be antibodies to other lipids which have been shown to occur in humans with autoimmune diseases (Meager et al., 1999). |
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