Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases logoLink to Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
. 1981 Jun;40(3):217–223. doi: 10.1136/ard.40.3.217

Antibodies to nuclear antigens in polymyositis: relationship to autoimmune 'overlap syndromes' and carcinoma.

P J Venables, P A Mumford, R N Maini
PMCID: PMC1000751  PMID: 6787993

Abstract

Thirty-two patients with polymyositis were categorised into 4 groups: (1) 'pure' polymyositis, (2) dermatomyositis, (3) myositis associated with autoimmune 'overlap syndrome', and (4) those with associated malignancy. Serum from each patient was examined for a range of antinuclear antibodies. Seventeen patients had ANA detected by immunofluorescence, 18 patients had raised DNA binding (greater than 25 U/ml), of whom eight had levels greater than 50 U/ml (SI conversion: U/l = U/ml x 10(3)). Antibodies to soluble nuclear antigens were detected in 23 (72%) by 1 or more of 3 methods, and in all of these anti-RNP was the main antibody detected. Antibodies to other soluble antigens were also present in 6 sera. In 2 cases, both patients with SLE/myositis overlap, these were shown to be anti-Sm. The remaining 4 had antibodies to various protein components of the extracts, but it was not possible to demonstrate an antibody of diagnostic specificity for polymyositis. Furthermore, quantitation of anti-RNP and anti-DNA antibodies failed to define a distinct clinical entity or exclude malignant disease. High levels of anti-RNP antibodies showed an association with Raynaud's phenomenon, sclerodactyly, and pulmonary fibrosis and an inverse correlation with the rash of dermatomyositis, suggesting that this antibody may be of pathogenetic rather than diagnostic significance.

Full text

PDF
217

Images in this article

219Image
on p.219

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bennett R. M., O'Connell D. J. The arthritis of mixed connective tissue disease. Ann Rheum Dis. 1978 Oct;37(5):397–403. doi: 10.1136/ard.37.5.397. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bradley W. G. Polymyositis. Br J Hosp Med. 1977 Apr;17(4):351, 353-5. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. CASPARY E. A., GUBBAY S. S., STERN G. M. CIRCULATING ANTIBODIES IN POLYMYOSITIS AND OTHER MUSCLE-WASTING DISORDERS. Lancet. 1964 Oct 31;2(7366):941–941. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(64)90868-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Currie S., Saunders M., Knowles M., Brown A. E. Immunological aspects of polymyositis. The in vitro activity of lymphocytes on incubation with muscle antigen and with muscle cultures. Q J Med. 1971 Jan;40(157):63–84. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Esiri M. M., MacLennan I. C., Hazleman B. L. Lymphocyte sensitivity to skeletal muscle in patients with polymyositis and other disorders. Clin Exp Immunol. 1973 May;14(1):25–35. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Holian J., Griffiths I. D., Glass D. N., Maini R. N., Scott J. T. Human anti-DNA antibody: reference standards for diagnosis and management of systemic lupus erythematosus. Ann Rheum Dis. 1975 Oct;34(5):438–443. doi: 10.1136/ard.34.5.438. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Notman D. D., Kurata N., Tan E. M. Profiles of antinuclear antibodies in systemic rheumatic diseases. Ann Intern Med. 1975 Oct;83(4):464–469. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-83-4-464. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. ROPES M. W., BENNETT G. A., COBB S., JACOX R., JESSAR R. A. 1958 Revision of diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis. Bull Rheum Dis. 1958 Dec;9(4):175–176. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Reichlin M., Mattioli M. Description of a serological reaction characteristic of polymyositis. Clin Immunol Immunopathol. 1976 Jan;5(1):12–20. doi: 10.1016/0090-1229(76)90145-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Sharp G. C., Irvin W. S., LaRoque R. L., Velez C., Daly V., Kaiser A. D., Holman H. R. Association of autoantibodies to different nuclear antigens with clinical patterns of rheumatic disease and responsiveness to therapy. J Clin Invest. 1971 Feb;50(2):350–359. doi: 10.1172/JCI106502. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Sharp G. C., Irvin W. S., Tan E. M., Gould R. G., Holman H. R. Mixed connective tissue disease--an apparently distinct rheumatic disease syndrome associated with a specific antibody to an extractable nuclear antigen (ENA). Am J Med. 1972 Feb;52(2):148–159. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(72)90064-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Tan E. M., Kunkel H. G. Characteristics of a soluble nuclear antigen precipitating with sera of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. J Immunol. 1966 Mar;96(3):464–471. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Venables P. J., Erhardt C. C., Maini R. N. Antibodies to extractable nuclear antigens in rheumatoid arthritis: relationship to vasculitis and circulating immune complexes. Clin Exp Immunol. 1980 Jan;39(1):146–153. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Wolfe J. F., Adelstein E., Sharp G. C. Antinuclear antibody with distinct specificity for polymyositis. J Clin Invest. 1977 Jan;59(1):176–178. doi: 10.1172/JCI108616. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES