Autoantibodies in primary systemic vasculitis

Strong evidence for the presence of autoantibodies in the primary systemic vasculitides now exists, and there is a particularly marked association between ANCA and Wegener's granulomatosis and microscopic polyarteritis. The presence of ANCA serves to place these disorders in a firm autoimmune setting. Although ANCAs are of undoubted diagnostic significance, their role in etiology and pathogenesis has still to be fully explored, so further developments in this area are awaited with interest.