DISTRIBUTION OF ANTI-P80-COILIN AUTOANTIBODY IN COLLAGEN DISEASES ANDVARIOUS SKIN DISEASES

Anti-p80-coilin antibody produces a unique pattern of immunofluorescen ce staining called nuclear dots characterized by the presence of up to six discrete nuclear bodies in interphase cell nuclei. The distributi on of this antibody and its clinical relevance have not been establish ed. We studied the prevalence of anti-p80-coilin antibody in the sera from 810 patients with collagen diseases and various skin diseases. Fi ve sera showed the nuclear dot pattern by indirect immunofluorescence on an HEp-2 cell substrate, and reacted by immunoblotting with 80-kDa protein in a nuclear extract from HeLa cells. Four of these sera were from patients with localized scleroderma, and the other was from a pat ient with primary Raynaud's phenomenon. The patients with localized sc leroderma who were positive for anti-p80-coilin antibody; had all been classified as having linear scleroderma. They had only one or two les ions, and were negative for antihistone and anti-single-stranded DNA a ntibodies, Our data indicate that anti-p80-coilin antibody is uncommon in skin diseases; however, this antibody is present in patients with a milder form of linear scleroderma, although the incidence of positiv ity may not be high.