Open AccessMultiplicity of antibodies in myositis sera
Author(s) -
Reichlin Morris,
Arnett Frank C.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
arthritis & rheumatism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1529-0131
pISSN - 0004-3591
DOI - 10.1002/art.1780271011
Subject(s) - polymyositis , serology , antibody , dermatomyositis , myositis , precipitin , autoantibody , antigen , immunofluorescence , anti nuclear antibody , pathology , immunology , staining , indirect immunofluorescence , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Serologic studies on 114 patients with polymyositis and dermatomyositis revealed that 89% had either a precipitating antibody to antigens in calf thymus extract or a positive immunofluorescent reaction on HEp‐2 cells, a human tissue culture line. Previously, the greatest proportion of polymyositis sera demonstrating positive serologic results (i.e., the proportion of patients' sera forming precipitates with calf thymus extract) was reported to be 60%. Use of the HEp‐2 cell as immunofluorescent substrate enabled the detection of antibody in 89 (78%) of the sera, providing the additional probe which demonstrated specific antibody. Nuclear, cytoplasmic, and nucleolar staining are the most common patterns of immunofluorescence. The immunofluorescent patterns and individual precipitin reactions are related to each other and to the clinical syndromes in which they appear.