How are antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies detected?

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCA) are present in patients with systemic vasculitis with or without renal involvement. These antibodies were first seen using indirect immunofluorescence (IIF). Two types of patterns are seen on ethanol-fixed neutrophils: the cytoplasmic and the perinuclear pattern. The cytoplasmic pattern is called C-ANCA (classical or cytoplasmic ANCA) and the perinuclear, P-ANCA. Antibodies to a serine proteinase, called proteinase 3 or myeloblastin, give rise to the C-ANCA pattern, while antibodies to myeloperoxidase give rise to the P-ANCA pattern. Proteinase 3, as well as myeloperoxidase, is present in the primary granules of neutrophils, and the P-ANCA pattern is thus an artifactual staining pattern. Myeloperoxidase, which is a basic protein, redistributes during ethanol fixation from the primary granules to the negatively charged nucleus. As an alternative to the IF technique, several solid-phase assays have been developed using either 125I or enzyme-labeled secondary antibodies. Depending on the degree of purification of the antigens used, such assays may be used for screening or as a complement to the IF method. Today it is possible to directly screen for both types of ANCA using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Simultaneous screening for antiglomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibodies (Goodpasture antibodies) increases the diagnostic yield, especially in patients with renopulmonary syndromes.