J Clin Pathol 1980;33:648-652 Antibody to synthetic poly dAT: correlation with antibody to native DNA and specificity for SLE

SUMMARY Antibodies to synthetic 3H-poly dAT have the advantage over antibody to native DNA in that they have a higher degree of specificity for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This is because poly dAT eliminates the problem of measurement of single stranded antibodies that are not specific for any one condition but which may be detected by native DNA preparations which usually contain single stranded regions. The overall degree of correlation between the two anti-bodies is good in SLE. Antibodies to poly dAT correlate well with clinical evidence of disease activity but in this study were not particularly associated with the presence of renal disease. It has been reported that antibodies to double stranded DNA occur exclusively in the sera of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)' and that the amount of antibody present correlates with disease activity and is therefore useful in both the diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of the disease.2 3 In subsequent reports, there has been some discrepancy in the specificity of these anti