Evaluation of methods for detection of anticentromere antibodies and other antinuclear antibodies

Our immunologic studies of twenty-five patients with acrosclerosis with severe acral involvement, twenty-seven patients with most or all of the signs of CREST syndrome, twenty-two patients with systemic lupus erythematosus as positive controls, and ninety-one blood donors as negative controls centered on an evaluation of eight antigenic substrates, including four types of human cells for the detection of anticentromere antibodies (ACA) and other antinuclear antibodies (ANA). The ACA, which occurred only among the patients with most or all of the signs of CREST syndrome, could be detected reliably on human cell lines HEp-2 and KB but not on a mouse cell line or on the three types of tissue sections examined. Comparisons of human HEp-2 and KB cell lines from four sources indicated that HEp-2 cells are the best of the substrates tested for detection of ACA. Since rodent tissue sections give negative reactions with ACA, they are indicated for confirmation. In general, results varied with the type and source of antigen used. Thus ANA findings need to be expressed not only in terms of the titers of the antibodies and the pattern(s) of their reactions but also in terms of the type of antigen or substrate used, its source, and the diagnostic significance of findings in the given test system.