Anticuerpos anticitoplasmas de neutrófilos y colitis ulcerosa inespecífica / Neutrophil anticytoplasmic antibodies and idiopathic ulcerative colitis

We studied tha presence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies in 16 patients with idiopathic ulcerative colitis, using an indirect immunofluorescence technique and specific ELISA for myeloperoxidase and proteinase 3. Twelve patients had an active disease and in ten, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies were positive, with a predominantly perinuclear distribution and without specificity for myeloperoxidase or proteinase 3. These antiantineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies could be serologic indicators of disease activity in patients with ulcerative colitis