A new study demonstrated that naturally occurring antibodies targeting transthyretin (TTR) are present in the serum of both healthy individuals and patients with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). However, in patients with ATTR-CM, levels of naturally occurring antibodies against TTR were significantly altered compared with those of healthy controls.
The research, recently published in the journal Amyloid, analyzed antibody levels in blood samples from a diverse group, including healthy adults, newborns and patients with ATTR-CM who were either untreated or receiving the stabilizer medication tafamidis.
Naturally occurring antibodies have two main subtypes: IgG and IgM. Compared to healthy individuals, untreated patients with ATTR-CM had higher IgG levels and lower IgM levels. However, these trends changed in patients who took tafamidis.