Prevalence and clinical significance of cathepsin G antibodies in systemic sclerosis

• Main Authors: P. Grypiotis, A. Ruffatti, F. Cozzi, R.A. Sinico, M. Tonello, A. Radice, M. Favaro, S. Todesco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: PAGEPress Publications 2003-12-01
• Series: Reumatismo
• Online Access: https://reumatismo.org/index.php/reuma/article/view/138
• ISSN: 0048-7449; 2240-2683

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence and clinical significance of cathepsin G antibodies in patients affected with systemic sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma). Methods: 115 patients affected by SSc, 55 (47,8%) with diffuse scleroderma (dSSc) and 60 (52,2%) with limited scleroderma (lSSc), were tested for cathepsin G antibodies by ELISA method. Moreover these sera were evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) on ethanol and formalin fixed human neutrophils. Results: By means of the ELISA method 16 (13,9%) patients were found to be sera positive for anti-cathepsin G, 2 (12.5%) of which showed a perinuclear fluorescence pattern (P-ANCA) and 4 (25%) an atypical ANCA staining, while 10 (62,5%) were negative on IIF. The IIF on scleroderma sera revealed 5 (4,3%) P-ANCA and 18 (15,7%) atypical ANCA patterns. The anti-cathepsin G antibodies significantly prevailed in scleroderma sera (p=0.02) when their frequency was compared with that of healthy controls; while they were not significantly associated to any clinical or serological features of SSc patients. Conclusions: The anti-cathepsin G antibodies were significantly frequent in scleroderma sera; however, no clinical correlations were found. Thus, the significance of their presence in SSc still needs to be clarified.