| Background |
ENA antibody is a grouping of antibodies often used to screen for autoimmune disease. Extractable Nuclear Antigens are over 100 different soluble cytoplasmic and nuclear antigens. Autoantibodies to these antigens are associated with particular connective tissue disorders. The six main antigens used in immunological laboratories for detection are Ro, La, Sm, RNP, Scl-70 and Jo1. The ENA Screen can provide important diagnostic informations on patients with suspected connective tissue diseases such as SLE, polymyositis, Sjogren syndrome, scleroderma and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). Every disease does not present a single parameter, but results in the simultaneous presence of multiple parameters, although there are autoantibodies that characterize pathology better than others. |
