ANCA with specificity for lactoferrin in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Antibodies to lactoferrin were detected in about 20% of patients with SLE, irrespective of the presence of renal involvement and in 10% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and in 19% of patients with scleroderma. We conclude that anti-lactoferrin antibodies may be found in different types of connective tissue disease. Their clinical significance in these diseases however remains to be elucidated.