ABSTRACT
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by an extensive variety of autoantibodies, some of which participate in the lesions of the disease. Among the autoantibodies detected in patients with SLE one can find some that react with nuclear material, others that react with membrane components, others that bind to cytoplasmatic constituents, and also autoantibodies that bind to phospholipids, thus producing false positive serological tests for syphilis. This chapter deals with analyses of human monoclonal anti-DNA autoantibodies, mainly because they have direct application to the human disease. The availability of monoclonal anti-DNA antibodies has allowed detailed analyses of the antigen-binding characteristics of these molecules and the production of heterologous antiidiotype antibodies. Y. Naparstek et al. demonstrated structural and immunochemical resemblances between monoclonal anti-DNA autoantibodies and a monoclonal anti-Klebsiella antibody derived from a patient with macroglobulinemia. An idiotype is a serologically defined marker of the variable region of an antibody.
