Autoantibody against ribosomal protein L14 in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE

To isolate a specific antibody against ribosomal protein L14 and to assess the relationship of this antibody with some of the clinicalfeatures in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

METHODS

We screened the sera of SLE patients by immunoblotting analysis using rat total ribosomal proteins as antigen to determine whether sera had antibody activity against ribosomal proteins other than the P S10, and L12 proteins. The sera from 2 patients had antibody activity against a 30-kDa ribosomal protein. This antigenic protein was identified to be ribosomal protein L14 by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting, so the antibody against L14 was tested by immunoblotting analysis using glutathione-S-transferase fusion human-L14 protein (GST-L14) as the antigen. We examined sera from 126 patients with SLE, and as controls sera from 67 patients with dermatomyositis and polymyositis (DM/PM), 71 patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and 74 healthy donors.

RESULTS

Antibody activity against GST-L14 was detected in 7 out of 126 SLE, but not in any of the DM/PM, PSS, or healthy controls.

CONCLUSION

Antibody against ribosomal protein L14 was specifically detected in sera from patients with SLE. Although this antibody activity was not so prevalent in the patients with SLE, it might be one of the useful tools for diagnosis of SLE.