Cyclic citrullinated peptide

Antibodies to Cyclic-citrullinated Peptides (Anti-CCPs)... 

Cyclic citrullinated peptide A circular peptide (a ring of amino acids) containing the amino acid citrulline. Autoantibodies directed against cyclic citrullinated peptide provide the basis for a test of importance in rheumatoid arthritis. 

Rantapaa-Dahlqvist, S. et al., Antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptide and IgA rheumatoid factor predict the development of rheumatoid arthritis, Arthritis Rheum., 48, 2741, 2003. 

Peptide-coated nanotube-based biosensor Cyclic citrulline peptide ... 

Rheumatoid factor is seen in 3-10% of people over age 60 (Enzer et al., 2002 Korpilahde et al., 2003). In the Pima Indians, a population with an extremely high incidence of rheumatoid arthritis, the prevalence of rheumatoid factor is higher in females than in males (Enzer et al., 2002), but in other populations there is little difference by sex (Korpilahde et al., 2003). Rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies have been shown to be predictive of the development of rheumatoid arthritis (del Puente et al., 1988 Rantapaa-Dahlqvist et al., 2003). 

Schellekens GA, Visser H, de Jong BA, van den Hoogen FH, Hazes JM, Breedveld FC, van Venrooij WJ (2000) The diagnostic properties of rheumatoid arthritis antibodies recognizing a cyclic citrullinated peptide. Arthritis Rheum, 43 155-163. 

RA is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease that predominantly affects the joints and in some cases also internal organs. The etiopathogenesis of this disease is not clear, but autoantibodies like the Rheumatoid Factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) play a key role in the joint damage. In terms of etiology, RA is nowadays considered as a multi-factorial disease where multiple "hits" are necessary to trigger the damage and clinical manifestations that characterize RA. 

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