Abstract
The sera of 141 patients with monoclonal gammopathies were examined for the presence of anti-RNP and anti-Sm activities. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed. Thirty-two sera were found to bind RNP while 16 bound to Sm. The anti-Sm and anti-RNP antibodies were found in sera of patients with IgG, IgM and IgA gammopathies. The activity against RNP and/or Sm was confirmed further by using purified immunoglobulins, employing competition assays and immunoblotting. Anti-Sm antibodies are regarded as being highly specific for SLE, yet none of the patients whose serum was found to contain high titres of anti-Sm/anti-RNP antibodies presented with symptoms related to SLE or other rheumatic diseases. Our results of a high incidence of anti-ribonucleoproteins activity in the serum of patients with monoclonal gammopathies support previous reports of autoantibody properties characteristic of these immunoglobulins.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 349-353 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Clinical and Experimental Immunology |
| Volume | 75 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| State | Published - 1989 |
| Externally published | Yes |