Summary
Introduction. Antinuclear antibodies are used in diagnostics of rheumatic diseases. By indirect immunofluorescence dense fine speckled fluorescence pattern can be detected, which is associated with anti- DFS70 antibodies. It is thought that anti- DFS70 antibodies can be a useful biomarker to rule out rheumatic diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of anti-DFS70 antibodies and their association with other antinuclear antibodies in patients with rheumatic diseases.
Material and methods. All of 235 patients were tested for anti-DFS70 antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence and for 16 antinuclear antibodies, including anti- DFS70, by line immunoassay. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28.0.1.1.
Results. The prevalence of anti- DFS70 antibodies in rheumatic group and other diseases group patients was 24.8 and 18.6%, respectively. The prevalence of anti- DFS70 antibodies in rheumatic patients under 18 years old was higher than in adult patients (30.4 and 21.1%, respectively). However, these differences were not statistically significant. Concomitant antinuclear antibodies were found in 62.1% of anti-DFS70 positive rheumatic patients. Compared to anti-DFS70 negative rheumatic patients, only anti-Jo-1 antibodies were significantly more prevalent in anti-DFS70 positive rheumatic patients (1.1 and 13.8%, re spec tively).
Conclusions. In this study there was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of anti-DFS70 antibodies between compared groups. There is a possible association between anti-DFS70 and other antinuclear antibodies. However, compared anti-DFS70 negative and anti- DFS70 positive rheumatic patients, only anti-Jo-1 antibodies were significantly more prevalent in anti-DFS70 positive rheumatic patients.
