A comparison of the sensitivities and specificities of different substrates for the fluorescent antinuclear antibody test.

Six different commercially available substrates for fluorescent antinuclear antibody (FANA) testing were compared with mouse liver, using a panel of well--characterized sera. Mouse liver sections and cultured HEP2 cells appeared to be most sensitive and specific. Although most substrates were acceptable, several were quite insensitive. These results underscore the importance of substrate performance in FANA testing.