title: The significance of antibodies to poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) in systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: Poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) and ds-DNA binding activity have been measured in thirty-nine systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) sera, nineteen rheumatoid arthritis sera, fourteen sera from non-SLE rheumatic and non-rheumatic diseases and in ten normal sera. Antibodies to poly(ADP-ribose) were found only in the SLE and in three SLE-like rheumatic diseases. Anti-DNA antibodies, on the other hand, were found not only in the SLE and SLE-like diseases, but also in rheumatoid arthritis and chronic active hepatitis. Estimation of poly(ADP-ribose) binding was, therefore, more specific for, and more discriminatory of SLE from other diseases, than the estimation of ds-DNA binding. The results indicate that the estimation of poly(ADP-ribose) binding in serum may be more useful in the diagnosis of SLE than the presently employed estimation of DNA binding using the Amersham kit. DNA-anti-DNA immune complexes are detected in some of the SLE sera after deoxyribonuclease I digestion, confirming earlier reports of the existence of circulating DNA-anti-DNA complexes in SLE patients. Snake venom phosphodiesterase treatment of some of the SLE sera also resulted in increased poly(ADP-ribose) binding activity, suggesting the existence of poly(ADP-ribose)-anti-poly(ADP-ribose) immune complexes in the circulation of SLE patients. This observation raises the possiblity that poly(ADP-ribose) immune complexes may play some part in the pathogenesis of some cases of SLE.
mesh_terms: D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000276:immunology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004247:DNA / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D009702:Nucleoside Diphosphate Sugars / Q000276:immunology*; D011064:Poly Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose / Q000276:immunology*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D001323:Autoantibodies; D009702:Nucleoside Diphosphate Sugars; D011064:Poly Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose; D004247:DNA