Korean J Lab Med.  2009 Apr;29(2):145-151. 10.3343/kjlm.2009.29.2.145.

Clinical Significance of Dense Fine Speckled Pattern in Anti-nuclear Antibody Test using Indirect Immunofluorescence Method

• Kang SY
• Lee WI

• KMID: 854974
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3343/kjlm.2009.29.2.145

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Dense fine speckled (DFS) pattern in antinuclear antibody (ANA) test using indirect immunofluorescence method became to be known recently and it is detected in patients with various chronic inflammatory diseases as well as in healthy individuals. We investigated the relation between DFS pattern and various diseases. METHODS: ANA tests by indirect immunofluorescence method using HEp-2 cell line slide (Kallestad; Bio-Rad, USA) were performed in 2,654 patients for screening of systemic autoimmune diseases. The frequencies of ANA and DFS positivity were analyzed according to sex, age, clinical department and disease. RESULTS: ANA was positive in 13.3% (352/2,654) of the total patients, and the frequency of DFS pattern was observed in 3.8% (101/2,654) of the total patients and in 28.7% (101/352) of the patients with ANA positivity. Higher frequency of DFS positivity was observed in patients referred from Departments of Rheumatology and Nephrology, but there was no difference in the frequencies of DFS positivity among the patients with ANA positivity. The frequency of DFS pattern was higher in seborrheic dermatitis (14.3%), herpes zoster (11.1%), rheumatoid arthritis (16.9%), systemic lupus erythematosus (15.4%) and Sjogren syndrome (14.3%). CONCLUSIONS: The DFS pattern is a frequent finding (about 28% of ANA positivity) in ANA test using indirect immunofluorescence method. Relatively high frequency of DFS pattern was observed in autoimmune diseases, contrary to the previous observations that DFS pattern is not related with autoimmune diseases. Further studies including the confirmation tests of anti-DFS70 are needed for the identification of relation between DFS pattern and particular diseases.

Keyword

Dense fine speckled pattern; Indirect immunofluorescence; Anti-nuclear antibody

MeSH Terms

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/immunology
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Antibodies, Antinuclear/*blood/diagnostic use
Arthritis, Rheumatoid/immunology
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect/*methods
Humans
Infant
Male
Middle Aged
Retrospective Studies
Transcription Factors/immunology

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1. (A) Dense fine speckled (DFS) pattern of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis in ANA test using indirect immunofluorescense method with HEp-2 cells slides (×400). The features of DFS pattern was characterized by dense, fine speckles in nucleus in interphase and strong staining of chromosome region in mitotic cells in metaphase. (B) Typical speckled pattern with nuclear speckles in interphase cells and negative staining of chromosome region in mitotic cells (×400).

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