[SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus)-related clinical features in dogs]

Three dogs presented with lameness and/or vague clinical signs. The results of immunological tests were suggestive of a SLE-related syndrome. ANA (antinuclear antibodies) titres were very high, 1:40960 in one of the dogs, and antibodies against single-stranded DNA were detected. Complement levels were very low in two dogs. Antibodies against histones were detected in both the serum and the synovial fluid of one dog. In another dog there was evidence of high concentrations of PCNA antibodies, which in humans are specific for SLE. It is concluded that the three dogs showed signs of a syndrome possibly related to SLE. The description of the clinical signs and of the laboratory diagnostics serve as a clinical demonstration to draw colleagues' attention to this nosologically interesting clinical syndrome and to the need to request specific immunological tests when this syndrome is suspected.