Abstract:

Objective To evaluate the specific antibody immune response against Epstein-Barr virus （EBV） in patients with anti-nuclear antibody （ANA） positivity and negativity. Methods ANA was determined by indirect immunofluorescence. Anti-extractable nuclear antigen （ENA） antibodies were determined by immunoblotting. Serum EBV-virus capsid antigen（VCA） IgM,EBV-VCA IgG,EBV-early antigen（EA） IgG and EBV nuclear antigen（EBNA-1） IgG levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） in 80 patients with ANA positivity and 48 healthy subjects. The difference of EBV antibody positive rates and levels was evaluated in ANA-positive patients in comparison with those in ANA-negative healthy controls. The relationship between EBV antibody level and the types and numbers of ENA antibodies was analyzed. Results EBV-VCA IgG,EBV-EA IgG and EBNA-1 IgG levels were higher in ANA-positive patients than those in healthy controls （P<0.01）,and ANA-positive patients showed a higher EBV-EA IgG positive rate compared to healthy controls（χ²=5.747,P=0.017）. Furthermore,elevated EBNA-1 IgG was found in anti-SS-A/Ro antibody positive and anti-SS-B/La antibody positive groups compared to those in anti-SS-A/Ro antibody negative and anti-SS-B/La antibody negative groups（Z=-2.630,P=0.008;Z=-2.515,P=0.011）. EBV-VCA IgG and EBV-EA IgG levels had no statistical significance （P>0.05）. EBV-VCA IgG and EBV-EA IgG were higher in anti-nucleosome antibody positive group than those in anti-nucleosome antibody negative group （Z=-2.355,P=0.018;Z=-2.017,P=0.043）,while there was no statistical significance for EBNA-1 IgG （P>0.05）. There was difference in the number of anti-ENA antibodies and the distribution of EBV-EA IgG levels （χ²=11.380,P=0.023）. Conclusions EBV reactivation might be correlated with the presence of ANA.

Key words: Anti-nuclear antibody, Epstein-Barr virus, Autoimmunity