Serum anti-nuclear factor. Laboratory studies

Antinuclear factors in rheumatoid arthritis. Increasing organ-non-specificity with increasing reactivity of rheumatoid factor with heterologous gamma globulin

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A clinico-immunological study of serum and synovial fluid antinuclear factors in rheumatoid arthritis and other arthritides

Samples of serum and synovial fluid from 161 patients with various forms of arthritis have been examined for the presence of antinuclear factors (ANF). In rheumatoid arthritis 28% of patients had ANF in their serum, and in 22% ANF was found in the synovial fluid. In ten patients ANF was present in the serum alone. In three patients ANF was present in only the synovial fluid, and in one of these patients the finding of ANF in only one of two joints examined is adduced as evidence in favour of local production of ANF in synovial tissue. The ANF was present in the serum and synovial fluid as IgM in 75%, as IgG in 22% and as IgM/IgG in 3% of rheumatoid arthritis patients.

LIVER AUTOANTIBODIES IN THE RAT

The injection of CCl₄ into rats results in the rapid appearance of a complement-fixing serum factor directed against the sedimentable components of autologous and homologous rat liver. The factor is active against the liver from different species and against a variety of rat organs. The activity appears to be present in the macroglobulin fraction of the serum and the response is prevented by irradiation and splenectomy. The response is considered to result from the stimulation of antibody forming cells by denatured tissue breakdown products. The relationship of the tissue damage to the antibody status is discussed.