SIMILAR RO SS-A AUTOANTIBODY EPITOPE AND TITER RESPONSES IN ANNULAR ERYTHEMA OF SJOGRENS-SYNDROME AND SUBACUTE CUTANEOUS LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS/

Background and Design: Studies were conducted to determine whether cer tain types of Ro autoantibodies are unique to subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus and annular erythema of Sjogren's syndrome. Ten America n subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus sera, 11 Japanese annular ery thema of Sjogren's syndrome sera, and 39 control sera were tested by e nzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with recombinant 52- and 60-kd Ro fus ion proteins, native 60-kd Ro protein, and native La/SS-B protein. Res ults: Japanese annular erythema of Sjogren's syndrome sera and America n subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus sera share several types of a nti-52-kd and anti-60-kd Ro autoantibodies. However, these antibodies were found significantly more often and in significantly higher titers in sera from patients with Sjogren's syndrome who did not manifest th ese skin diseases. Patients with high Ro autoantibody titers were like ly to have overt exocrine gland dysfunction. Conclusions: The failure to identify disease-specific Ro autoantibodies in subacute cutaneous l upus erythematosus and annular erythema of Sjogren's syndrome sera sug gests that additional factors influence the development of these skin diseases. However, similarities in the Ro autoantibody responses and i n the clinical features of subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus and annular erythema of Sjogren's syndrome suggest that these two skin dis eases might arise from a similar pathogenic process.