Evaluation of a commercial immunoassay for autoantibodies in Chinese Han systemic sclerosis population

The autoantibody profile, which varies between races, has rarely been reported in Chinese Han systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. The present study aims to investigate the autoantibody profile of Chinese Han SSc patients using a commercial line immunoassay.

The prevalence of autoantibodies to Ro-52, PDGFR, Ku, PM75, PM100, Th/To, NOR90, Fib, RP155, RP11, CENP-B, CENP-A and Scl-70 were analyzed in serum samples obtained from healthy controls (n = 30), SSc patients (n = 320) and non-SSc connective-tissue disease patients (n = 100) using an Euroline Systemic Sclerosis Profile kit.

SSc patients had increased prevalence of anti-RP11 (P = 0.032), anti-CENPB (P < 0.001), anti-CENPA (P = 0.001) and anti-Scl-70 (P < 0.001), but had decreased prevalence of anti-Ro-52 (P = 0.004), when compared to non-SSc CTDs. Furthermore, SSc patients had increased prevalence of anti-Ro-52 (P = 0.003), anti-CENPB (P = 0.034), anti-CENPA (P = 0.034) and anti-Scl-70 (P < 0.001), when compared to HCs. In addition, SSc patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) had increased prevalence of anti-Ro-52 (P = 0.046) and anti-Scl-70 (P = 0.035), but had decreased prevalence of anti-CENPB (P < 0.001) and anti-CENPA (P < 0.001). Moreover, SSc patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) had increased prevalence of anti-Ro-52 (P = 0.013) and decreased prevalence of anti-Scl-70 (P = 0.001). Anti-Ro-52 and anti-Scl-70 had increased values for predicting ILD in SSc patients, while anti-Ro-52 had increased values for predicting PAH in SSc patients.

A commercial line immunoassay was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of autoantibodies in Chinese Han SSc patients. The results clearly indicate that the immunoblot assay has good diagnostic utility for SSc. Anti-Ro-52, anti-RP11, anti-CENPB, anti-CENPA and anti-Scl-70 are useful for diagnosing SSc in the Chinese Han population. Anti-Ro-52, anti-CENPB, anti-CENPA and anti-Scl-70 have a potential value for diagnosing ILD in SSc patients. Furthermore, anti-Ro-52 and anti-Scl-70 may be used to diagnose PAH in SSc patients.