Comparative Study for the Detection of Antinuclear Factors with the Fluorescent Antibody Technique

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Abstract
A comparative study was carried out to investigate the influence of a number of variables on the detection of anti-nuclear factors in human sera. The indirect immunofluorescent test was applied throughout, using a number of different substrates and antisera, conjugated with isothiocyanate. Positive results were obtained in 0 to 30% in a series of 100 sera obtained from patients suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. The discrepancies were due not only to quantitative differences in the sensitivity of the techniques, but also to the presence of various antigen-antibody systems.