Clinical Information

The 2023 American College of Rheumatology/European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) classification criteria includes an entry criterion of at least one positive antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) test within 3 years of identification of an aPL-associated clinical criterion, followed by additive weighted criteria (score range 1-7 points each) clustered into 6 clinical domains (macrovascular venous thromboembolism, macrovascular arterial thrombosis, microvascular, obstetric, cardiac valve, and hematologic) and 2 laboratory domains (lupus anticoagulant functional coagulation assays, and solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for IgG/IgM anticardiolipin and/or IgG/IgM anti-beta 2-glycoprotein I antibodies) (1)Cardiolipin is an anionic phospholipid that interacts with the protein cofactor beta 2-glycoprotein I. Lupus anticoagulant (LA) is an indirect assessment for the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies, which is evident in the in vitro prolongation of phospholipid-dependent coagulation.(2) Anticardiolipin and anti-beta 2-glycoprotein I antibodies are detected in solid-phases immunoassays using beta 2-glycoprotein I-dependent cardiolipin/or beta 2-glycoprotein I alone as substrate, respectively.(2,3)

There is evidence from multiple studies to suggest that patients with APS may develop autoantibodies to other phospholipid/protein complexes, specifically phosphatidylserine/prothrombin (PS/PT).(4-9) Like beta 2-glycoprotein-dependent I cardiolipin, PS/PT is a complex composed of the anionic phospholipid phosphatidylserine and the protein cofactor prothrombin. In a systematic review, Sciascia et al demonstrated that the presence of anti-PS/PT IgG antibodies is an independent risk factor for arterial and/or venous thrombotic events, with odds ratio (OR) of 5.11 (95% CI: 4.2-6.3).(4) A multicenter study showed that IgG anti-PS/PT were more prevalent in APS patients (51%) than in those without (9%), OR 10.8, 95% CI (4.0-29.3), p <0.0001.(5) Furthermore, a number of studies have shown clinical and laboratory evidence that PS/PT antibodies may be a useful second-line test for the evaluation of patients at-risk or suspected with suspected APS, particularly for those individuals with evidence of thrombosis or abnormal LA testing.(6,7) While anti-PS/PT antibodies were highly prevalent and correlated with other anti-PL antibodies, IgG anti-PS/PT conferred a high risk for thrombosis (8,9) but not for pure hematologic involvement.(9) These antibodies may also be seen in patients with other autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus.(5,8) In individuals who test positive for antiphospholipid antibodies without clinical features of APS (carriers), the cumulative incidence rate of thrombotic events has also been reported to be significantly higher for anti-PS/PT IgG positive than anti-PS/PT IgM positive subjects.(10)