Korean J Intern Med.
1997 Jun;12(2):176-181.
Clinical significances of antibodies to Ro/SS-A autoantigens and its subtypes in
primary Sjogren's syndrome
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Medicine, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University Medical
College, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the patterns of Ro autoantigen recognition in Korean
patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome (SS) and to investigate its clinical
significance in SS. METHODS: Sera from primary SS (n = 51) and systemic lupus
erythematosus (SLE) (n = 132) were tested by double immunodiffusion test and
immunoblotting for reactivity with 60 kDa and 52 kDa Ro/SS-A proteins. Clinical
manifestations were evaluated on the basis of the presence of anti-Ro/SS-A
antibodies and anti-60 kDa/52 kDa proteins. RESULTS: The prevalence of
anti-Ro/SS-A antibodies in Korean patients with primary SS was 64.7%. In
immunoblotting analysis, the incidence of anti-60 kDa without anti-52 kDa was
lower in patients with SS(3.0% vs. 11.6%, p > 0.05), whereas anti-52 kDa without
anti-60 kDa was more common in SS patients than in SLE patients(42.5% vs. 4.3%,
p < 0.001). Patients with anti-Ro/SS-A antibody were significantly associated
with the presence of vasculitis, hyperglobulinemia and rheumatoid factor in
primary SS (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The patterns of 52 kDa and 60 kDa Ro
autoantigen recognition were quite different in the SLE and primary SS. Anti-52
kDa without anti-60 kDa antibody may be used as a diagnostic marker for primary
SS. Although the presence of anti-Ro/SS-A antibody was closely associated with
certain clinical features in SS, these clinical manifestations were not
correlated with the presence of antibodies against each 52 kDa and 60 kDa
proteins. Extended studies with a large population are required to determine the
clinical correlation of autoantibodies against each peptides or epitopes of
Ro/SS-A proteins.