The value of synthetic linear epitope analogues of La/SSB for the detection of autoantibodies to La/SSB; specificity, sensitivity and comparison of methods

SUMMARY In a previous study it was shown that La/SSB contains four linear epitopes, p147–154, p291–302, p301–318 and p349–364. The aim of the present study was to investigate the value of the synthetic epitope analogues of the La/SSB autoantigen for the detection of antibodies to La/SSB, in comparison with recombinant La and fragments of this protein. A total of 122 sera with anti-La/SSB activity, from patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), were tested in various peptide-based assays. In addition, 62 sera from pSS or SLE patients with other autoantibody specificities and 95 sera from healthy individuals were used as controls. The autoantibody s…