Earlier work has demonstrated that serum autoantibodies from coeliac patients targeted against transglutaminase2 (TG2) inhibit in vitro angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to establish whether coeliac patient-derived monoclonalTG2-targeted antibodies produced by recombination technology exert similar anti-angiogenic effects to serum-derived coeliacautoantibodies. In addition, we studied whether the monoclonal patient autoantibodies modulate endothelial cell TG2 activityand whether such modulation is related to the anti-angiogenic effects. Material and methods. The influence of coeliacpatient-derived monoclonal TG2-targeted antibodies on endothelial cell tubule formation was studied using a threedimensionalangiogenic cell culture model. Endothelial cell TG2 enzymatic activity was determined by means of a live-cellenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results. Coeliac patient-derived monoclonal TG2-targeted antibodies produced byrecombination technology inhibited endothelial tubule formation and enhanced the crosslinking activity of TG2. When thisenzymatic activity was inhibited using site-directed irreversible TG2 inhibitors in the presence of autoantibodies, in vitroangiogenesis reverted to the control level. Conclusions. Since we found a significant negative correlation between endothelialcell angiogenesis and TG2 activity, we suggest that the anti-angiogenic effects of coeliac patient-derived TG2-targetedautoantibodies are exerted by enhanced enzymatic activity of TG2.
