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Ann Rheum Dis 1998;57:470-475 doi:10.1136/ard.57.8.470
  • Extended reports

Antigen specificity of antihistone antibodies in systemic sclerosis

  1. Minoru Hasegawaa,
  2. Shinichi Satoa,
  3. Kanako Kikuchib,
  4. Kazuhiko Takeharaa
  1. aDepartment of Dermatology, Kanazawa University School of Medicine, Kanazawa, Japan, bDepartment of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
  1. Dr S Sato, Department of Dermatology, Kanazawa University School of Medicine, 13–1, Takara-machi, Kanazawa 920–8641, Japan.
  • Accepted 15 June 1998

Abstract

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and clinical significance of antibodies to individual histone components in systemic sclerosis (SSc).

METHODS Serum samples from patients with limited cutaneous SSc (lSSc; n=42) and diffuse cutaneous SSc (dSSc; n=28) were examined for IgG and/or IgM antibodies to individual histone components and complexes by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTS The level of IgG antibody to total histones was significantly higher in lSSc and dSSc than in normal controls. The level of IgM antibody to total histones was significantly higher in lSSc, but not in dSSc, than in normal controls. IgG antibody to total histones tended to be increased in dSSc when compared with that in lSSc. On the other hand, IgM antibody to total histones tended to be increased in lSSc when compared with that in dSSc. Although SSc showed various antihistone specificities, H2B, H2A-H2B, (H2A-H2B)-dsDNA were main antigens recognised by IgG antibodies in both lSSc and dSSc. Although IgM antibodies to H2B and H2A-H2B were also detected in both lSSc and dSSc, serum samples from lSSc patients exhibited highest IgM reactivity with H1.

CONCLUSION SSc may be included among conditions in which heterogeneous antihistone antibodies are produced. IgM antibodies to the most accessible histone H1 may be related to mild clinical features (lSSc) and IgG antibodies to the inner core molecules of native histone such as H2B or complexes including H2B may be associated with severe clinical features (dSSc) in Ssc.

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