ANTIBODIES TO UV LIGHT DENATURED DNA IN SYSTEMIC LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS - DETECTION BY FILTER RADIOIMMUNOASSAY AND CLINICAL CORRELATIONS

Abstract

Antibodies to UV light denaturated DNA (UV DNA) were measured in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and normal subjects, using a millipore filter radioimmunoassay. High levels of UV DNA binding were only found in patients with SLE. The presence of UV DNA antibodies correlated well with the presence of native DNA antibodies, although immunodiffusion studies and inhibition techniques showed these antibodies to be immunologically distinct in many cases. Of the SLE patients, 41% had had photosensitivity at some stage of their disease, but there was a poor correlation between this symptom and the presence of UV DNA antibodies. Although UV DNA is a potent immunogen, none of the results from this study suggest that antibodies to UV DNA are more than another example of the broad spectrum of anti-nuclear antibodies seen in SLF.