The extraction of filaggrin and its significance in rheumatoid arthritis / 中华风湿病学杂志

Objective To establish the method for extracting the cytokeratin filament aggregating protein (filaggrin) from human epidermis,to detect the anti filaggrin antibody (AFA) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to determine the diagnostic value of AFA in RA.Methods Filaggrin was extracted from human epidermis and partially purified.AFA in 103 patients with RA and 140 controls was detected by Western blotting.Results Filaggrin extracted from the epidermis could be used as the antigen in AFA test by Western blotting.AFA test resulted in diagnosis of 35 9% of 103 RA samples,with a specificity of 93 7%.The result was significantly higher compared with patients′ and normal controls ( P