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Rheumatology 2002; 41: 343-345
© 2002 British Society for Rheumatology

Heberden Historical Series

Antinuclear factor

Heberden Historical Series/Series Editor: M. Jayson

A. L. Hepburn and P. J. Charles1

Rheumatology Section, Division of Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0NN and
1 Division of Immunology, Hammersmith Hospital NHS Trust and Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, 1 Aspenlea Road, London W6 8LH, UK

Autoantibodies to nuclear antigens, including DNA, were discovered over 40 yr ago and have become the hallmark of systemic rheumatic disease. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) are present in the sera of 95–99% of patients with the prototypic autoimmune disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but may also be found frequently in many other connective tissue disorders. ANAs are useful aids in the diagnosis of many rheumatic diseases, but have also shed light on the role of nuclear antigens in autoimmune disease. In this short article, we will highlight the key experiments that led to the discovery of these antibodies.

The LE cell phenomenon was first observed in 1948 by Hargraves et al. [1] in blood from patients with SLE. It was noted that, . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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