Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae Antibodies in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective This study was conducted to evaluate the frequency of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods Eighty-three RA patients with positive anti-cyclic citrullinated antibodies (anti-CCP) and 160 healthy blood donors were included in this study. ASCA IgG and IgA were assessed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results The frequency of ASCA was significantly higher in RA patients than in healthy subjects (22.9% vs 3.7%, P < 10(-3)). Both ASCA IgG and ASCA IgA were significantly more frequent in RA patients than in the control group (20.5% vs 3.1%, P < 10(-3)and 9.6% vs 0.6%, P = .002, respectively). ASCA IgG and ASCA IgA levels were significantly higher in RA patients than in healthy subjects (7.8 +/- 8.4 U/mL vs 2.3 +/- 2.8 U/mL, P < 10(-6) and 6.2 +/- 10.9 U/mL vs 3.4 +/- 1.7 U/mL, P = .002, respectively). Conclusion A high frequency of ASCA IgG and ASCA IgA has been found in RA patients.