The aim of this study was to compare ELISA, immunodiffusion and immunoblot for the detection of anti-Jo-1 antibodies, and to investigate the association of the results with clinical manifestations. In two medical centres for rheumatology and one for pulmonology, all patients with suspected connective tissue disease were screened over a 5-year period for anti-Jo-1 antibodies by ELISA. Positive sera were controlled in another laboratory by immunodiffusion. If immunodiffusion was negative, sera were controlled again by ELISA. ELISA-positive immunodiffusion-negative sera were tested by immunoblotting. The patients were characterised clinically, and their clinical signs and symptoms were compared with those of 257 patients with anti-Jo-1 antibodies published in 15 case series and 30 case reports. Twenty-five patients had a positive ELISA test. Fifteen sera were positive by ELISA and immunodiffusion (group 1). Three sera showed high titres in both ELISA tests with negative immunodiffusion and immunoblot (group 2). Seven sera showed low titres in both ELISA tests. The results were negative in the other tests (group 3). Patients in groups 1 and 2 could be classified as Jo-1 syndrome patients. Of these 18 patients, 15 had arthritis, 14 had myositis and 14 had interstitial lung disease. Only four patients had myositis at disease onset. We describe four unusual patients with Jo-1 syndrome in detail: 1. Long history of seronegative rheumatoid arthritis; 2. Sjögren's syndrome with Ro- and La-antibodies; 3. Scleroderma and bronchial carcinoma with centromere antibodies; 4. Corticoid-sensitive psychosis. Patients with suspected connective tissue disease may be screened for anti-Jo-1 antibodies by ELISA. It detects some patients that are missed by immunodiffusion. Especially lower ELISA titres should be controlled by another method because of the low specificity of the test. The clinical picture is variable. Most patients have features other than myositis at disease onset.
Testing for antinuclear antibodies (ANA) by the indirect immunofluorescence test (IFT) is regarded as a fundamental serological screening method for diagnosing connective tissue diseases (CTD). In the case of a negative result exclusion of certain CTDs is indicated, especially systemic lupus erythematosus, and a positive ANA result is the starting point for further tests aimed at finding disease-specific autoantibodies. The recently discovered antibodies against lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF/DSF70) deviate from the normal interpretation pattern in ANA diagnostics. These antibodies give rise to a characteristic dense fine speckled (DSF) immunofluorescence pattern in IFT and target the ubiquitously expressed nuclear stress protector protein LEDGFp75. They can be detected, sometimes in high titers, not only in patients with diverse disorders of the skin or eyes and with neoplasms but also in persons with relatively mild or unspecific complaints and even in apparently healthy individuals; however, they are less frequent in CTD. These anti-LEDGF antibodies can be found in all age groups with a tendency to a higher prevalence in younger people and the frequency does not increase in advanced age. The vast majority of anti-LEDGF carriers are female. The CTDs with isolated anti-LEDGF antibodies, i. e. unaccompanied by autoantibodies typical for the respective CTD, are extremely rare. Detection of ANA exclusively with a DSF immunofluorescence pattern and confirmed by a specific anti-LEDGF binding assay, does not therefore indicate the presence of CTD but is indicative of exclusion of systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis and an ANA-associated overlap syndrome, similar to a completely negative ANA result.
Erratum with no effect on disease activity in two systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Lupus 19:317-322 57. Forbes GM et al (2014) A phase 2 study of allogeneic mesenchymal stromal cells for luminal Crohn's disease refractory to biologic therapy.
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