Antinuclear antibodies in Utah coal miners.
Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) were detected using a mouse kidney substrate in 69 of 238 (29 percent) underground Utah coal miners at a titer of 1:16. At titers of 1:4 and higher, 52 percent were positive. The majority had a speckled pattern and were not directed against any previously characterized antigens. Fifteen of 28 with high titer ANA had reduced complement. The ANA was more apt to be present in those with coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP), and as ANA titer increased, the percentage with CWP increased. The ANA increased with both age and coal mine dust exposure. It is hypothesized that ANA and CWP both result from long-term dust exposure, but that there is insufficient evidence to implicate ANA in the pathogenesis of CWP.
D000367:Age Factors; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001991:Bronchitis / Q000276:immunology; D003032:Coal Mining; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011009:Pneumoconiosis / Q000276:immunology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014589:Utah
D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D003165:Complement System Proteins