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. 1994 Mar;95(3):385–389. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2249.1994.tb07008.x

Anti-5S RNA/protein (RNP) antibody levels correlate with disease activity in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) nephritis.

A Guialis 1, M Patrinou-Georgoula 1, N Tsifetaki 1, V Aidinis 1, C E Sekeris 1, H M Moutsopoulos 1
PMCID: PMC1535070  PMID: 8137536

Abstract

A patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and nephritis without antibodies to dsDNA but with antibodies to a 5S RNA/protein (RNP) complex is presented. Combined RNA precipitation and Western blotting experiments strongly suggested that these newly identified autoantibodies recognized a distinct epitope on the L5 ribosomal protein of the L5/5S RNP complex first described by Steitz et al. [1]. Quantification of the anti-5S RNP antibody levels was done by hybridizing Northern blots of immunoprecipitated RNA from serial serum samples with a 32P-labelled oligoprobe specific for the 5S ribosomal RNA. These studies revealed a strong association between anti-5S RNP autoantibody titre and severity of SLE nephritis over a 3-year prospective study. Our results indicate that the L5/5S RNP can be a target of autoimmune response, and and may serve, in some cases, as marker of SLE severity and response to therapy.

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Selected References

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