D'Arpa P, White-Cooper H, Cleveland D W, Rothfield N F, Earnshaw W C
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205.
Arthritis Rheum. 1990 Oct;33(10):1501-11. doi: 10.1002/art.1780331007.
We report the initial molecular characterization of the autoimmune response against DNA topoisomerase I (topo I; Scl-70). Sera from 36 patients with scleroderma and 4 healthy control subjects were studied using 6 subcloned portions of topo I. Twenty-three sera recognized at least 2 independent epitopes on the molecule. Therefore, anti-topo I, like other non-organ-specific autoantibodies characterized to date, is polyclonal and multifocal. The cloned protein should prove suitable for sensitive early detection of anti-topo I in the clinical setting.