title: Quantitation of autoantibodies in systemic autoimmune diseases: clinically useful?
abstract: Serial assessment of levels of autoantibodies has been proposed as being clinically useful in certain systemic autoimmune diseases. In particular, attention has been given to anti-dsDNA antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and ANCA in the ANCA-associated vasculitides (AAV). Much controversy exists, however, concerning the value of serial testing in these diseases. We here review the various tests available for quantitation of anti-dsDNA and ANCA, and their capacity to detect changes in autoantibody levels that are associated with changes in clinical disease activity of the respective diseases. It is concluded that changes in anti-dsDNA as measured by the Farr assay and changes in ANCA as assessed by ELISA have predictive value for the occurrence of disease relapses, although this relationship is far from absolute. Consequently, treatment based on changes in levels of the respective autoantibodies only seems at present not justified, in view of the toxicity of currently available immunosuppressive regimens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands. c.g.m.kallenberg@int.umcg.nl
authors.forename: C G M
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Kallenberg
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Stegeman
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bootsma
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bijl
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Limburg
mesh_terms: D019268:Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic / Q000032:analysis; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000032:analysis; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology; D015531:Radioimmunoprecipitation Assay / Q000379:methods; D012008:Recurrence
chemical_list: D019268:Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D001323:Autoantibodies