Autoantibodies are an integral part of the process of classifying,detecting, and, at least in some cases, mediating autoimmunediseases. Since the discovery of the antinuclear antibody morethan 40 years ago, it has been closely associated with systemiclupus erythematosus (SLE). Yet the antinuclear antibody is notjust one antibody but, actually, many different antibodies associatedwith a variety of diseases and disease manifestations. For example,a positive test for antinuclear antibodies due to the presenceof antibodies to double-stranded DNA is highly associated withlupus nephritis (and these autoantibodies are probably pathogenicin some cases); antibodies to single-stranded . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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From the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; and Harvard Medical School — both in Boston.
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