PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Tzang, Bor-Show AU - Chen, Tzy-Yen AU - Hsu, Tsai-Ching AU - Liu, Yin-Chang AU - Tsay, Gregory J TI - Presentation of autoantibody to proliferating cell nuclear antigen in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C virus infection AID - 10.1136/ard.58.10.630 DP - 1999 Oct 01 TA - Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases PG - 630--634 VI - 58 IP - 10 4099 - http://ard.bmj.com/content/58/10/630.short 4100 - http://ard.bmj.com/content/58/10/630.full SO - Ann Rheum Dis1999 Oct 01; 58 AB - OBJECTIVES To study the association of antibodies to proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) virus infection.METHODS Sera from 243 patients with chronic HBV infection; 379 patients with chronic HCV infection; 80 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); 28 patients with rheumatoid arthritis; 15 patients with Sjogren’s syndrome; eight with polymyositis; eight with primary biliary cirrhosis; and 33 healthy control subjects were tested for the presentation of anti-PCNA antibodies by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblotting using recombinant PCNA as antigen. The distribution of immunoglobulin isotypes of anti-PCNA antibody was measured by ELISA assay.RESULTS By ELISA, anti-PCNA antibodies were detected in 30 (12.3%) patients with chronic HBV infection, 71 (18.7%) patients with chronic HCV infection, and five (6.3%) patients with SLE. The inhibition of binding with these sera by purified PCNA was shown to exceed 71%. By immunoblotting, the frequency of anti-PCNA in patients with chronic HBV and HCV infection was 17 of 243 (7%) and 41 of 379 (11%), respectively. Absorption studies on indirect immunofluorescence showed the typical nuclear speckled staining pattern by anti-PCNA sera was abolished by preincubation of sera with PCNA. Anti-PCNA antibody was not detected in sera from patients with autoimmune diseases except SLE. Anti-PCNA antibodies in patients with chronic HBV and HCV infection were predominantly IgG.CONCLUSION These data suggest that anti-PCNA antibody are also present in patients with chronic HBV and HCV infection. Anti-PCNA antibody may not be specific for SLE.