DEMONSTRATION OF CIRCULATING ANTINUCLEAR GLOBULINS IN ULCERATIVE COLITIS*

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Abstract
Sera from 24 patients with ulcerative colitis were studied for the presence of antinuclear globulins by the fluorescent antiglobulin technique. In 18 patients (75%) a positive reaction was detected on whole nuclei of human leukocytes, but no affinity for calf thymus nucleoprotein was observed. Tests for rheumatoid factor and lupus erythematosus cell induction were negative. Antinuclear factors were usually present in patients with splenomegaly, arthritis or arthralgia and long-standing disease (over 5 years). They were absent in 9 of 13 patients who had previously undergone colectomy for their disorder, including 2 who had positive test before surgery. While positive antinuclear tests were present in 9 patients on ACTH-corticosteroid therapy, in 2 the test became negative during treatment. Over 300 sera from normal subjects and patients with various diseases were tested. Positive antinuclear tests were encountered in systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis and related collagen disorders, as well as in chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and in some drug reactions. The presence of a circulating antinuclear globulin in ulcerative colitis is of interest, since many patients with this disease exhibit features often attributed to hypersensitivity disorders.