Studies of a common idiotype pr4 in autoimmune rheumatic disease

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Abstract
A new common idiotype, designated PR4, is described. This idiotype was originally identified on a human hybridoma‐derived monoclonal antibody from a patient with leprosy, which binds the major Mycobacterium leprae‐derived antigen, phenolic glycolipid‐1, poly(ADP)‐ribose, DNA, and poly(dT). The PR4 idiotype was found in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (70%), rheumatoid arthritis (40%), and Sjögren's syndrome (15%). It was not, however, found in the spouses of the SLE patients or (unlike other lupus idiotypes) in their healthy first‐degree relatives. Although no correlation between PR4 idiotype levels and disease activity in SLE was found, a subset of rheumatoid arthritis patients with high levels of the idiotype was identified.