Setting the scene: a historical and personal view of immunologic diseases, autoimmunity and ANA

Dr. Friou reviews here his research experiences in immunology beginning over fifty years ago, and dealing with his early background experience with group A streptococcus, antihyaluronidase, and rheumatic fever, and cell mediated responses in Boeck's sarcoid. Details of his introduction of the immunofluorescent technique of Harvard Prof. Albert Coons into the SLE-ANA area, with the complexities and difficulties of early involvement with the technique are described. The simple, but extremely clever experiment of Prof. Miescher of Geneva which created an ideal situation for the application of immunofluorescence to the SLE area is described. Technical details of the earliest immunofluorescent ANA studies are presented, together with firm data that these early studies, which included many human sera and studies of the nature of the antibody target, had been completed by February 21, 1957, well in advance of any other laboratory. Important subsequent related studies from international laboratories are reviewed.