AROTEC Diagnostics Limited products

Autoantibodies staining the nuclei or the perinuclear zone of neutrophils by indirect immunofluorescence are referred to as pANCA whereas those giving a clear cytoplasmic fluorescence are referred to as cANCA. The antigen recognised by most cANCA sera has been identified as proteinase 3 (also known as myeloblastin, p29 or AGP7).

Autoantibodies staining the nuclei or the perinuclear zone of neutrophils by indirect immunofluorescence are referred to as pANCA whereas those giving a clear cytoplasmic fluorescence are referred to as cANCA. The antigen recognised by most pANCA sera has been identified as myeloperoxidase.

Autoantibodies directed to negatively charged phospholipids, in particular cardiolipin, have been detected in the serum of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). APS is characterised by venous and arterial thrombosis, recurrent spontaneous abortions and thrombocytopenia. It is now known that a serum cofactor, β₂-glycoprotein 1, is required for the binding of cardiolipin by autoantibodies in the sera of patients with APS. By contrast, anticardiolipin antibodies from patients with infectious diseases (in particular, syphilis) do not require this cofactor.

The existence of autoantibodies to bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) was first described when it was noticed that 11 of 51 sera that were cANCA positive in immunofluorescence, recognised a 57 kDa antimicrobial cationic protein known as CAP57 in both ELISA and Western blot.  It is now known that CAP57 and BPI are identical.

AROTEC`s Rheumatoid Factor (RF) antigen (Human IgG Fc fragment) is purified from human plasma and can be used to detect rheumatoid factors in patient sera. Rheumatoid factors are a subcategory of immunoglobulins that specifically bind to the Fc regions of IgG. Elevated concentrations of rheumatoid factors are often correlated with a more severe course of the disease. IgM RF may precede the onset of RA by several years. In established RA, high titer serum IgM RF indicate poor prognosis.

Purification: Purified using Protein G affinity chromatography; Immunogen: Native calprotectin antigen (MRP8/14) purified from human neutrophils; Applications: Immunocytochemistry, Western blot, sandwich ELISA.

AROTEC Anti-Calprotectin IgG monoclonal antibody is protein G purified using chromatographic methods. This product is >90% purity as assessed by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This product will bind calprotectin autoantigens when utilised in immunoassays.

LC-1 is a marker for autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) type II and antibodies against LC-1 are found to be detected in up to 50% of cases. Immunofluorescence of LC-1 is often not identified due to the brightness of LKM-1 obscuring accurate visualisation. Some occurrences of anti-LC-1 in conjunction with antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and smooth muscle antibodies (SMA) in patients with chronic hepatitis C and autoimmune hepatitis, is known. Some case studies have shown that anti-LC-1 is found as the only serological marker in patients with AIH type II.

Autoantibodies to centromeric proteins in the sera of patients with scleroderma were first described in 1980. Subsequent studies confirmed that anti-centromere antibodies (ACA) were most often found in patients with a limited form of systemic sclerosis previously referred to as CREST syndrome. These autoantibodies are also often detected in sera from patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon and occasionally in other rheumatic diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren’s syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis.  ACA have also been reported to occur with high prevalence in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, in patients with malignancies and occasionally in normal individuals.

tTG is the most widely distributed member of the transglutaminase family, being expressed in almost all cell types. Belonging to a family of calcium dependent enzymes it has been found to be expressed in up to 8 different isoforms, depending on its loci within tissues. Enzymatically tTG is known to play a role in tissue repair, specifically in remodelling functions whilst also exhibiting protective and preventative properties. The enzyme is 687 amino acids in length with a molecular weight of around 80kDa with 4 domains, an N-terminal beta sandwich domain, catalytic core and 2 C-terminal beta barrel domains.