Phenomenon of DNA-abzyme cross-reactivity and its significance for the mechanisms of cytotoxicity and apoptosis

The physiological role of DNA-abzymes and their involvement in pathogenesis of different autoimmune disorders is still unknown. At the same time, a variety of properties and features of DNA-hydrolyzing autoantibodies have been studied. Here, the phenomenon of the cross-reactivity of DNA-abzymes with the nuclear matrix proteins was studied. The possible value of the phenomenon for the cytotoxic activity of DNA-hydrolyzing autoantibodies was debated as well. A new hypothesis is put forward regarding the DNA-abzymes formation based on the phenomenon of the cross-reactivity of polyclonal DNA-abzymes with nuclear matrix proteins free of native DNA. Preliminary results suggest that there are mechanisms of cytotoxicity mediated by DNA-abzymes and independent from the system of complement and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes.