ANTIBODIES TO HISTONES IN SYSTEMIC LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS

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  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 36  (1) , 145-150
Abstract
Antibodies to histones were investigated in the serum of 45 patients with spontaneously occurring systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who were not receiving any form of treatment. Twenty-three had active and 22 had inactive disease. Those with active disease were also studied after the initiation of corticosteroid treatment to determine the effect of treatment on anti-histone antibodies. Both a complement fixation method and indirect immunofluorescence of acid-eluted histone-reconstituted tissue secretions were used, with excellent correlation between these 2 methods. Eleven of the 45 SLE patients, but none of 45 normal controls had antibodies to histone. Untreated patients with active and inactive disease had a similar incidence of antibodies to histone. They disappeared, soon after the initiation of treatment in the patients with active disease. Patients with antibodies to histones had a higher prevalence of cutaneous vasculitis, anemia, lupus nephropathy and Raynaud''s phenomenon, but a lower prevalence of lupus brain involvement than those without such antibodies. Only the latter reached statistical significance.