ANA antinuclear antibodies - selected antigens (ELISA)

Antinuclear and anti-cytoplasmic antibodies – ELISA screening test

When the immune system is functioning properly, the antibodies produced as a result of its activity are directed against pathogens that can cause disease and infection, thus ensuring the proper functioning of defenseimmune mechanisms.

As a result of a number of changes that are not fully understood (it is believed, for example, that in many cases they have a genetic basis), the process by which the immune system recognizes the body's tissues as „own” and not a threat, is disrupted. The body begins to react to them as harmful and prbates to destroy and fight them, producing antibodies (called autoantibodies) against normal, normal organr cells. These attacks lead to their damage, resulting in the existence of a chronic inflammatory process, which can manifest itself in a series of uncharacteristic symptomsthatvary in severity over time. A group of diseasesb, whichr not easy to diagnose due to this fact, are called autoimmune.

One typeof autoantibodies is antinuclear antibodies (ANA). They are directed against components of the cell nucleus (including genetic material in the form of double-stranded DNA or proteins thatre maintaining its structure). ANAs are present in the blood serum of patientsr with many autoimmune or inflammatory connective tissue diseases.

Their determination has a high sensitivity and is therefore considered the most accurate screening test for these conditions.

One of the diseasesb in which ANA autoantibodies are detected in the blood in up to 95% of patientsis systemic lupus erythematosus. It is a severe, chronic disease affecting mainly young women, affecting joints and kidneys to the greatest extent, and skinhand, blood vessels and mzg to a lesser extent. Its treatment is long-standing and is based mainlyon the administration of high doses of corticosteroidsmedicationsthat suppress the excessive immune system response and the production of autoantibodies.

Other diseasesb in which ANA autoantibodies appear with variable frequency include: Drug-induced lupus erythematosus, mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), Sjogren's syndrome, progressive systemic scleroderma (PSS), polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM), autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), and primary bursitis (PBC).

Antinuclear and anti-cytoplasmic antibodies – ELISA screening test – when to perform?

The test is usually ordered by rheumatologyphysicians and is used in the diagnosis of many autoimmune diseases. The result of the test should be interpreted together with the evaluation of other laboratory test results, such as the amount of hemoglobin in red blood cells (to exclude anemia) or markers ESR, CRP (indicating the severity of inflammation in the body).

The determination of ANA by ELISA allows quantitative measurement (titer) of these autoantibodies, which can prove useful in monitoring the course of the disease (periodss exacerbations and remissions), helps predict its course and the effectiveness of the treatment undertaken.

Antinuclear and anti-cytoplasmic antibodies – who should perform?

People with symptoms that may suggest an autoimmune disease:

• persistent subfebrile conditions
• fatigue, weakness, headaches
• ble and swelling of joints
• decrease in appetite and weight
• ble of muscles
• loss of hairw
• rash (especiallyly in the cheek region), hypersensitivity to light
• thickening, hardening of the skinry
• hindered swallowing
• bled skinry placry when exposed to cold
• dryness of the eyes and mouth
• sensory disturbances, tingling and numbness in the hands and feet