Patent ID: 6130049
Filing Date: 2000-10-10
Classification: G01N,Y10S

Abstract:
A method for diagnosing autoimmune disease or the predisposition to said disease in a patient, said method comprising:(a) providing, as a test sample, a specimen of biological fluid from said patient, said specimen being suspected of containing catalytic antibodies;(b) providing, as a control sample, a specimen of biological fluid from a healthy individual;(c) contacting a peptide comprising amino acid residues which may be the same or different and include at least one of arginine, lysine or proline, with said test sample and with said control sample;(d) subjecting said test sample and said control sample, each containing said peptide, to conditions promoting catalytic cleavage of said peptide by any catalytic antibodies present in said samples; and(e) measuring the relative activity of any catalytic antibodies in said test sample and said control sample, as determined by the presence of cleavage products formed from said peptide, the measurement of depressed activity of catalytic antibodies in said test sample relative to said control sample being indicative of autoimmune disease or predisposition to said disease in said patient.