Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAV) are a group of autoimmune disorders including Wegener's granulomatosis (WG), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) and renal-limited vasculitis (RLV). This paper reviews updated information on the pathogenesis of AAV. Additional clinical evidence for a pathogenic role of ANCA comes from the observat...

BACKGROUND Few studies have evaluated the influence of colectomy on antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) positivity in ulcerative colitis (UC). In small series of patients it has been suggested that ANCA positivity in UC might be predictive for development of pouchitis after colectomy. AIMS To assess the prevalence of ANCA in UC patients treated by colectomy and a Brooke's ileostomy (UC...

OBJECTIVE To determine positivity and clinical correlation of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), taking into account the interference of antinuclear antibodies (ANA). MATERIAL AND METHODS A prospective study was conducted in the Laboratory of Immunology of the National Cuban Center of Medical Genetic during one year. Two hounded sixty-seven patients with indication for ANCA determ...

INTRODUCTION C5a plays an crucial role in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-mediated neutrophil recruitment and activation. The current study further investigated the interaction between C5a and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) in neutrophils for ANCA-mediated activation. METHODS The plasma levels of S1P from 29 patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) in active stage and in remis...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the pathogenic role of cytokines in the development of experimental autoimmune vasculitis. METHODS BALB/c mice were immunized with human IgG-ANCA from a patient with WG. Control mice were immunized with normal human IgG. Levels of mouse IgG-ANCA and other autoantibodies were determined. The mice lungs and kidneys were examined for the development of vasculitis. Levels...

OBJECTIVE ANCA (p-ANCA and x-ANCA) have been documented to occur in many inflammatory disorders. The specific ANCA antigens and the clinical correlation of a positive ANCA test in these disorders are still for the most part obscure. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of and the target antigens for ANCA in patients with IBD. METHODS 104 patients (67 age between 3-18...

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) are frequently associated with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and hepatobiliary disorders. However, their target antigens have not been identified yet. Recently, we observed an atypical perinuclear ANCA fluorescence (p-ANCA) together with an intranuclear staining using ANCA-positive sera from patients with IBD and hepatobiliary disorders. ...

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) are thought to be pathogenic in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) by stimulating polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNs) to degranulate and produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). The aim of this study was to investigate if PMNs from AAV patients are stimulated more readily by ANCA compared with PMNs from healthy controls (HCs). Differences in ANCA charac...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) and rheumatic manifestations associated with chronic haematological malignancies. METHODS Two groups of patients were prospectively studied (group I: 60 patients with myelodysplastic syndromes and group II: 140 patients with lymphoid malignancies) for clinical 'immune' manifestations and ANCA. RESULTS In th...

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCAs) directed to proteinase 3 (PR3-ANCA) or myeloperoxidase (MPO-ANCA) are strongly associated with the ANCA-associated vasculitides--Wegener's granulomatosis, microscopic polyangiitis, and Churg-Strauss syndrome. Clinical observations, including the efficacy of B-cell depletion via rituximab treatment, support--but do not prove--a pathogenic role fo...