[Use of autoantibodies in clinical practice].
Autoantibodies are frequently determined in unclear clinical situations and in the context of an inflammatory syndrome. The aim of this article is not to review all autoantibodies in details, but to discuss those used in clinical practice by describing their methods of detection and interpretation. Thus we will focus on antinuclear antibodies (ANA), which are typically associated with connective tissue diseases, as well as anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), which are useful in the diagnosis of ANCA-associated vasculitides. Due to its high sensitivity indirect immunofluorescence is used as a screening test; when positive, ELISA is performed to search for antibodies more specifically associated with certain auto-immune diseases.
Département de médecine interne, CHUV, Lausanne. stephanie.petitpierre@chuv.ch
Stéphanie
S
Petitpierre
Vincent
V
Aubert
Annette
A
Leimgruber
François
F
Spertini
Pierre-Alexandre
PA
Bart
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D019268:Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic / Q000097:blood; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000097:blood; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012737:Sex Factors; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology
D019268:Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D001323:Autoantibodies