Clinical associations of serum Golgi apparatus antibodies in an immunology laboratory cohort

Abstract

Introduction Anti‐Golgi antibodies (AGAs) are rare antibodies that are found as distinct, polarised cytoplasmic staining on the HEp‐2 substrate. Methods We performed a review of patients that demonstrated this autoantibody in a large laboratory cohort in Australia. Over a 24‐month period, all patients that had a sample submitted for routine antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) that had AGA staining were retrospectively identified. Medical records were perused to identify clinical associations. Results There were 23 813 ANAs identified with 34 patients (0.14%) demonstrating AGA staining. AGAs were found in a variety of inflammatory disorders, malignancies and liver diseases. They did not associate with any other significant ANA, and in contrast with previous studies, we did not find any association with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Conclusions Anti‐Golgi antibodies are rare, non‐specific and possibly a bystander phenomenon. Future studies are required to study the origin and longitudinal clinical associations of these autoantibodies.

Elevated levels of anti‐Golgi antibodies: An early sign of seronegative rheumatoid arthritis

“…Consequently, it is plausible that further pathologies may emerge, such as systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases. The extent to which these connections are coincidental with ANAs and consequently anti‐Golgi antibody specificity remains unknown 27 …”

“…The extent to which these connections are coincidental with ANAs and consequently anti-Golgi antibody specificity remains unknown. 27 There are some significant limitations to this study that should be mentioned. Initially, anti-Golgi antibodies were exclusively detected using indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and were not verified using specific assays like enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or western blot, which are designed to identify Golgi components.…”