title: Anti-Scl-70 antibodies detected by immunoblotting in progressive systemic sclerosis: specificity and clinical correlations.
abstract: One hundred and forty five serum samples from patients with a connective tissue disease and 30 serum samples from healthy blood donors were analysed by immunoblotting. The presence of anti-Scl-70, which seems to discriminate between progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) and the CREST (calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, telangiectasia) syndrome, was found in 31/64 (48%) patients with PSS, in 6/55 (11%) patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, in 2/26 (8%) patients with mixed connective tissue disease, and in none of 30 healthy blood donors. These data resulted in a specificity of 93% for this antibody in systemic sclerosis. For patients with PSS the duration of disease was significantly shorter in those with anti-Scl-70 antibodies than in those without, whereas the presence of anti-Scl-70 did not correlate with severity of disease. An 82% prevalence of anticentromere antibodies in patients with the CREST variant compared with a 4% prevalence in patients with PSS or with overlap syndrome confirms the high diagnostic value of this autoantibody for the CREST variant of PSS.
authors.affiliation: Clinique de Rhumatologie, Université Paris VII, Hôpital Bichat.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aeschlimann
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bourgeois
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Haim
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Belmatoug
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Palazzo
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Kahn
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000032:analysis*; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology*; D004264:DNA Topoisomerases, Type I; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting / Q000379:methods; D005779:Immunodiffusion / Q000379:methods; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008947:Mixed Connective Tissue Disease / Q000276:immunology; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D001324:Autoantigens; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C048100:Scl 70 antigen, human; D004264:DNA Topoisomerases, Type I