The Clinical Application of Anti-nucleosome Antibody in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Objective To study the clinical application of anti-nucleosome antibody(AnuA) in systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE). Methods A method of enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay was used to detect the serum AnuA and anti-dsDNA antibody in 187 patients with systematic lupus erythematosus and 84 other rheumatic diseases' patients. Meanwhile Anti-Sm antibody was tested by immunoblotting. Results The sensitivity and specificity of AnuA in SLE were 72.19% and 97.62%,respectively. The sensitivity of AnuA was significantly higher than that of anti-dsDNA and anti-Sm antibody(P0.05); while the specificity of AnuA had not significant difference with that of anti-dsDNA and anti-Sm antibody (P0.05). The sensitivity in SLE was 95.72% by combining AnuA with anti-dsDNA and anti-Sm antibody. The frequency of the oral ulcer,arthralgia,proteinuria and lower C3/C4 levels were significantly higher in 144 positive AnuA SLE than those in AnuA negative SLE(P0.05). Conclusion AnuA has a higher sensitivity and specificity in SLE and is one of the most valuable markers in the diagnosis of SLE. Combining AnuA with anti-dsDNA and anti-Sm antibody might be improved the diagnosis of SLE efficiently. AnuA may be related with the disease activity of SLE.