[Clinical significance of antinuclear antibodies in progressive systemic sclerosis]

Indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) was used to detect antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in 42 clinical cases. In each case cryostatic rat kidney slices and cultivated HEp-2 cells were used as substrates. Clinical diagnoses were as follow: Progressive Systemic Sclerosis (PSS) 25 cases, of which 8 were acrosclerotic, 8 diffuse, 5 CREST syndrome, 1 overlap PSS + Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and 3 PSS + myopathy; Localised scleroderma (morphea): 3 cases; Mixed Connective Tissue Disease (MCTD): 3 cases; "Idiopathic" Raynaud's Disease (RD): 4 cases; Dermatomyositis (DM): 2 cases (1 paraneoplastic); SLE: 1 case; Unclassifiable Connective Tissue Disease (UCTD): 4 cases. The ANA-positive cases identified by the traditional technique were divided according to pattern into 4 categories: homogeneous, peripheral, speckled, nucleolar. In contrast those identified using HEp-2 cells were divided into 9 pattern groups: (nuclear type) centromere, fine speckled, coarse speckled, diffusely grainy, homogeneous: (nucleolar type) speckled, clumpy, homogeneous. The results demonstrated a higher general incidence of positivity with HEp-2 cells and confirmed the close connection between Anticentromere ANA and CREST syndrome. A similarly close connection was noted between MCTD and both nuclear diffusely grainy and nucleolar speckled patterns. A fairly clear connection was also noted between acrosclerotic or diffuse SSP and a fine speckled nuclear pattern. It is felt that ANA tests using IFI on HEp-2 cells should lead to significant progress in the field of diagnosis and prognosis and the study of PSS subsets.