Session Information
Session Type: Abstract Submissions (ACR)
Background/Purpose:
Antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) are tested in sera of patients suspicious of an autoimmune disorder. ANAs are part in many classification criteria of autoimmune (AI) diseases. In healthy individuals ANAs may also be found and are most often anti-DFS70 antibodies (Mahler M et al. Autoimmun Rev 2012;11:642-5). The frequency of anti-DFS70 antibodies was tested in sera of patients who were hospitalized or attended our outpatient clinic.
Methods:
336 consecutive and ANA positive samples were screened on Hep-2 cells for the presence of a typical DFS70 pattern defined as dense fine speckled staining of nucleoli of interphase cells and intensive staining of the condensed chromosomal material in mitotic cells or similar immunofluorescence patterns (e.g. homogenous, fine speckled, combination of homogenous and fine speckled patterns, centromere and others). Presence of anti-DFS70 autoantibodies was confirmed using a new chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLI; BIO-FLASH – DFS70 Assay; kindly provided by Inova Diagnostics, USA, within an unrestricted research grant).
Results:
A pattern indicative of DFS70 autoantibodies could be found in 103 samples; in 82 of them (80 %) presence of anti-DFS70 autoantibodies could be confirmed by the CLIA vs. 9 in 233 samples (4 %) with other patterns. Numbers of other patterns were 70 with fine speckled, 66 homogenous and fine speckled, 43 homogenous, 4 centromere and 50 with mixed or other patterns.
In 298 of 336 patients a clinical diagnoses was found in the medical records. An autoimmune disease was given in 12 out of 78 patients (15 %) with DFS70 pattern (6 with juvenile arthritis, 5 with rheumatoid arthritis, 1 SLE) vs. 86 out of 220 patients (39 %) with other patterns (31 with SLE, 28 with RA, 2 with ANCA-associated vasculitis, 6 juvenile arthritis, 4 Sjogren’s syndrome, 4 UCDT, 11 other AI diseases ) and 8 out of 71 patients (11 %) with DFS70 autoantibodies in specific immunoassay (3 with juvenile RA, 2 with RA, 2 SLE, 1 patient suspect of MCDT) vs. 88 out of 227 DFS70 negative patients (39 %) (31 with RA, 30 with SLE, 9 juvenile RA, 4 Sjogren’s syndrome, 2 UCDT, 12 with other AI diseases).
Conclusion:
Anti-DFS70 was most often found (85 %) in people without other signs of an autoimmune disorder.
Disclosure:
M. Herold,
None;
W. Klotz,
None.
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