[Detection of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies for the values of Wegener's granulomatosis diagnosis and activity judgment].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the clinical significance of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) in Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) and other diseases.

METHOD: Indirect immunofluorescence was applied to detect serum ANCA of 204 patients and 48 normal controls. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect antimyeloperoxidase (MPO) antibodies.

RESULTS

The frequency of ANCA in sera of WG patients was 75% and significantly higher than those in sera of other groups (P < 0.05). ELISA demonstrated that MPO was the major antigen recognized by perinuclear ANCA (P-ANCA). Cytoplasmic ANCA (C-ANCA) was always positive and high titers in sera of active WG patients, but turned to negative or low titers in remission.

CONCLUSION

These results suggested that C-ANCA was specific for WG and was a marker for disease activity in WG. P-ANCA wasn't specific for WG, but related to vasculitis.