Article: Autoantibody

An autoantibody is a protein manufactured by the immune system that is directed against one or more of the host's own proteins. Many autoimmune diseases in humans, most notably lupus erythematosus, are caused by such autoantibodies.

List of some autoantibodies and commonly associated diseases
vs. double-stranded-DNA = Systemic lupus erythematosus
vs. Ro or La = Systemic lupus erythematosus and neonatal heart block, primary Sjogren's syndrome
vs. Sm = Systemic lupus erythematosus
vs. phospholipid = Antiphospholipid syndrome
vs. neutrophil cytoplasmic (cANCA) = Wegener's granulomatosis
vs. IgG (Rheumatoid Factor) = Rheumatoid arthritis
vs. neutrophil perinuclear (pANCA) = Polyarteritis nodosa
vs. centromere = CREST syndrome
vs. Scl70 = Systemic sclerosis
vs. smooth muscle = chronic autoimmune hepatitis
vs. mitochondria = primary biliary cirrhosis
vs. nicotinic acetylcholine receptor = myasthenia gravis
vs. voltage-gated calcium channel = Lambert-Eaton syndrome
vs. thyroid peroxidase (microsmal) = Hashimoto's thyroiditis
vs. TSH receptor = Graves' disease

Note: the sensitivity and specificity of various autoantibodies for a particular disease is different for different diseases. See antibody.

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