Characterisation of centromere (kinetochore) antigen reactive with sera of patients with a scleroderma variant (CREST syndrome).

Anticentromere (kinetochore) antibody is the marker antibody in CREST syndrome, but the precise molecular composition of the partner antigen has been poorly defined. This report describes for the first time a procedure for the successful extraction and biochemical characterisation of the centromere antigen molecule. The centromere antigen was extracted with 4M NaCl solution. The molecular weight of the partner antigen of the centromere antibody was determined to be 70 000 daltons by the SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting methods. A Sephacryl S-300 column experiment confirmed these results. Centromere antigenic activity was preserved at pHs between 3 and 11 and was resistant to three enzymes, trypsin, RNase, and DNase.