Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 May;32(4):e22361.
doi: 10.1002/jcla.22361. Epub 2017 Nov 23.

Diagnostic value of trait antinuclear antibodies and multiple immunoglobulin production in autoimmune diseases

Liping Wan  1   2 , Hong Zhu  2 , Yanan Gu  2 , Hui Liu  1
Affiliations

Diagnostic value of trait antinuclear antibodies and multiple immunoglobulin production in autoimmune diseases

Liping Wan et al. J Clin Lab Anal. 2018 May.

Abstract

Background: Our article aims to evaluate the proportion of monospecific antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and polyclonal ANAs in patients with autoimmune diseases based on the results of an ANA panel and to evaluate the efficiency of trait ANAs as a novel diagnostic tool. This study also aims to investigate immunoglobulin production in autoimmune diseases by detecting different antibodies.

Methods: The serum ANA profile of 634 patients with autoimmune diseases was analyzed using the immunoblot method. A specific formula was developed in an effort to calculate the theoretical proportion of monospecific ANA (TPM) in different disease groups. Different IgM, IgG, and IgE variants for several pathologies were detected.

Results: The observed proportions of monospecific ANAs (OPM) were all lower than the predicted TPM in autoimmune diseases. Polyclonal ANAs were predominant in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). There were statistical differences in OPM and TPM in all disease groups (P < .001). Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) analysis of trait ANAs between the SLE group and the control groups indicated an area under the curve of 0.916. Differences were found in IgM of Toxoplasma gondii (TOXO) and IgG of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Treponema pallidum (TP) when comparing the various disease groups to the control group.

Conclusion: The higher TPM suggests that polyclonal differentiation is the major mechanism of ANA in autoimmune diseases. Trait ANA is potentially a valuable new index for diagnosis in SLE. Further investigation is needed to understand the link between B-cell differentiation and autoimmune diseases.

Keywords: antinuclear antibody; autoimmune disease; immunoglobulin; trait ANA.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Results of ANA profile after detection. The result of the first strip (ANA‐3/528‐22): negative, the result of the second strip (ANA‐3/555‐64): anti‐SSB antibody grade 3, anti‐Ro52 antibody grade 3 and anti‐SSA antibody grade 3
Figure 2
Figure 2
Evaluations of diagnostic efficacy for trait ANA in different autoimmune diseases. A, Systemic lupus erythematosus group; B, rheumatoid arthritis group; C, other autoimmune diseases group
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Margery‐Muir AA, Bundell C, Nelson D, Groth DM, Wetherall JD. Gender balance in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Autoimmun Rev. 2017;16:258‐268. - PubMed
    1. Catrina AI, Deane KD, Scher JU. Gene, environment, microbiome and mucosal immune tolerance in rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2016;55:391‐402. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dooley MA, Hogan SL. Environmental epidemiology and risk factors for autoimmune disease. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2003;15:99‐103. - PubMed
    1. Javierre BM, Hernando H, Ballestar E. Environmental triggers and epigenetic deregulation in autoimmune disease. Discov Med. 2011;12:535‐545. - PubMed
    1. Alzabin S, Venables PJ. Etiology of autoimmune disease: past, present and future. Expert Rev Clin Immunol. 2012;8:111‐113. - PubMed