title: Antibodies to histones in systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: Antibodies to histones were investigated in the serum of forty-five patients with spontaneously occurring systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who were not receiving any form of treatment. Twenty-three had active and twenty-two had inactive disease. Thos with active disease were also studied after the initiation of corticosteroid treatment to determine the effect of treatment on anti-histone antibodies. Both a complement fixation method and indirect immunofluorescence of acid-eluted histone-reconstituted tissue sections were used, with excellent correlation between these two methods. Eleven of the forty-five SLE patients, but none of forty-five normal controls had antibodies to histone. Untreated patients with active and inactive disease had a similar incidence of antibodies to histone. They disappeared, however, soon after the initiation of treatment in the patients with active disease. Patients with antibodies to histones had a higher prevalence of cutaneous vasculitis, anaemia, lupus nephropathy and Raynaud's phenomenon, but a lower prevalence of lupus brain involvement than those without such antibodies. Only the latter, however, reached statistical significance.
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000032:analysis*; D003168:Complement Fixation Tests; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006657:Histones / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D006657:Histones