Review Article

The history and recent advancements in antinuclear antibody testing

Dimitra Moschou¹, Elena Pipi², Alexandra Tsirogianni²

1. Rheumatology Department, KAT General Hospital of Athens, Greece
2. Immunology-Histocompatibility Department, Evangelismos General Hospital of Athens, Greece

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Keywords: Antinuclear antibody, Indirect immunofluorescence pattern, ANA results

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Abstract

The antinuclear antibody (ANA) testing is an indispensable diagnostic tool for the management of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD). From the initial discovery of ANA identification until today there has been considerable technical progress in ANA testing and standardisation which has allow the development of commercial ANA assay kits that are widespread used in clinical and research practice. In this mini-review we explore the history and recent advancements in ANA testing and provide guidelines to the laboratory interpretation and clinical assessment of ANA results.

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