Anti-Dense Fine Speckled 70 (DFS70) antibodies are a common finding in clinical laboratory referrals. High prevalence of DFS70 autoantibodies in healthy population and usual negative association with Antinuclear Antibody (ANA)-associated autoimmune rheumatic diseases (AARD) were reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of DFS70 autoantibodies and their association with other autoantibodies in the context of a routine ANA referral cohort. Consecutive sera submitted for ANA screening were analyzed for anti-DFS70 antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) (n = 3175, 1030 men and 2145 women) then confirmed by immunoblotting. Anti-DFS70 positive samples were also assayed for a large spectrum of other circulating autoantibodies. The prevalence of anti-DFS70 antibodies was 1.7% in the whole population and 4.6% in the ANA-positive samples. Comparison between DFS70 IIF and immunoblotting showed an excellent correlation between the two methods. The prevalence of anti-DFS70 positive was significantly higher in females (2.1%, 45/2145) than in males (1.0%, 10/1030). Of note, no concomitant autoantibodies were found in the DFS70-positive male group compared with DFS70-positive females group that showed other serum autoantibodies in the 51% of cases. Anti-DFS70 reactivity in male population may represent an useful biomarker predicting the absence of other autoantibodies. On the contrary, the serological profile of DFS70-positive females required further investigations in order to define the presence of concomitant disease-marker autoantibodies.
The anti-dense fine speckled 70 (anti-DFS70) antibodies have recently become of interest because of their occurring in heterogeneous disorders including chronic inflammatory conditions, cancer, and systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD), as well as in healthy individuals1,2,3. The frequency of anti-DFS70 antibodies in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) ranged from 0 to 2.6%4.
Objective Early diagnosis of autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) is key to achieving effective treatment and improved prognosis. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to major changes in clinical practice on a global scale. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rheumatological clinical practices and autoimmunity testing demands. Methods Data regarding first rheumatological visits and new diagnosis together with the autoimmunity laboratory testing volumes related to COVID-19 pandemic phase (January- December 2020), were collected from medical records and laboratory information system (LIS) of a regional reference hospital (Basilicata, Italy) and compared with those obtained during the corresponding period in 2019. Results A significant decrease in the 2020 autoimmunity laboratory test volume was found when compared with the same period in 2019 (9912 vs 14100, p<0.05). A significant decrease in first rheumatological visits and diagnosis (1272 vs 2336, p<0.05) was also observed. However, an equivalent or higher percentage of positive autoimmunity results from outpatients services were recorded during 2020 when compared to pre-pandemic state. Of note, COVID- 19 associated decline in new diagnosis mainly affected less severe diseases. In contrast, ARD with systemic involvement were diagnosed at the same levels as the pre-pandemic period. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on the access to health services. However, our study highlighted that during the outbreak, greater appropriateness of the requests of laboratory test and visits emerged as shown by a greater percentage of positive testing results and new diagnosis of more severe ARD compared to pre-pandemic period.
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