RESEARCH - Anti-CCP antibodies in lupus patients with or without deforming arthropathy

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Lupus. 2008;17(4):300-4.

Anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies in lupus patients with or

without deforming arthropathy.

Damián-Abrego GN, Cabiedes J, Cabral AR.

Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Instituto Nacional de

Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City, Mexico.

Abstract

The objective was to study the association of antibodies against

cyclic citrullinated peptides (anti-CCP) in patients with lupus

articular damage. We studied 34 systemic lupus erythematosus patients

(30 women) with (n = 14) or without (n = 20) deforming arthropathy.

Anti-DNA and arthritis were mandatory inclusion criteria for both

groups. As controls, 34 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and nine

patients with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus

(rhupus) were included. Anti-CCP and rheumatoid factor were determined

by ELISA and nephelometry respectively. All patients had recent x-ray

films of the hands that were evaluated according to Sharp's method.

Systemic lupus erythematosus patients had a mean 6.50 +/- 0.86 (SD,

range 5-8) American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria, rheumatoid

arthritis patients met 5.38 +/- 0.60 (range 4-6) ACR criteria for

rheumatoid arthritis and rhupus patients had 5.78 +/- 0.44 (range 5-6)

criteria for rheumatoid arthritis and 5.11 +/- 0.78 (range 4-6) for

systemic lupus erythematosus. Systemic lupus erythematosus patients,

with or without deforming arthropathy, had normal serum anti-CCP

concentrations. In contrast, rheumatoid arthritis and rhupus patients

had 30- and 23-fold higher than normal amounts of anti-CCP (p < 0.001,

both comparisons).

Rheumatoid arthritis (97%) and rhupus (100%) patients were more

frequently positive for anti-CCP than SLE patients with (7%) or

without (5%) deforming arthropathy (p < 0.001, both comparisons).

Patients with lupus deforming arthropathy were more frequently

positive for rheumatoid factor (65%) than patients with non-deforming

arthritis (15%) (p = 0.005). Patients with lupus deforming arthropathy

had similar frequency of erosions and mean Sharp's score than rhupus

patients. Anti-CCP antibodies do not associate with lupus arthropathy,

whether deforming, non-deforming or erosive.

PMID: 18413411

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18413411

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