Abstract
The sera of 340 patients with monoclonal gammopathies were examined for the presence of anti-Ro/SS-A and anti-La/SS-B activity. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was employed. Forty-six sera (13.5%) bound to Ro/SS-A, while 79 sera (23.2%) bound to La/SS-B. The anti-Ro/SS-A and anti-La/SS-B antibodies were found in sera of patients with IgG, IgM, and IgA gammopathies. Forty-two of the 46 sera (91.3%) with positive anti-Ro/SS-A activity were found to bind La/SS-B as well, while only 53.2% (42 out of 79) of the sera that had anti-La/SS-B activity also bound Ro/SS-A. The activity against Ro/SS-A and La/SS-B was further confirmed by immunoblotting with purified immunoglobulins. Antibodies to Ro/SS-A and La/SS-B are common in systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren's syndrome, and other rheumatic disorders. Yet none of the patients whose serum was found to contain high titres of anti-Ro/SS-A or anti-La/SS-B human monoclonal antibodies presented with symptoms related to such autoimmune diseases. Our results of a high incidence of anti-Ro/SS-A or anti-La/SS-B activity in the sera of patients with monoclonal gammopathies support previous reports of autoantibody properties characteristic of these immunoglobulins.
Keywords
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.