Antibodies to a nuclear/nucleolar antigen in patients with polymyositis overlap syndromes.

A precipitating antigen-antibody system has been characterized that occurs in patients with polymyositis. At least half of the patients not only have polymyositis but also have scleroderma. The proposed name for this antigen found in calf thymus extract (CTE) is PM-Scl, to indicate the almost universal presence of polymyositis and the frequent occurrence of scleroderma in the patients who make antibodies to this antigen. The antigen is probably nucleolar since all sera which precipitate with the PM-Scl antigen stain the nucleoli of Hep2 cells by indirect immunofluorescence. The PM-Scl immune system is a distinctive one different from the other known precipitins that occur in patients with polymyositis and dermatomyositis including Jo1, nRNP, and Mi. This PM-Scl antigen and its antibody represent one system which constitutes part of the reactions previously designated as PM1. Interlaboratory exchange of sera and extracts have established the unique nature of this reaction which occurs in patients with inflammatory myopathy.