A Case of ANA-negative, Anti-dsDNA Negative, and Anti-Ro/SSA Positive Membranous Lupus Nephropathy

ABSTRACT

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the production of diverse autoantibodies with various systemic organ involvements. In patients with SLE, autoantibodies, such as antinuclear antibody (ANA) and anti-dsDNA antibody, play an important role not only in diagnosing the disease, but also representing the pathogenesis of the disease. ANA is the main screening tool in diagnosis and serum complement levels and anti-dsDNA antibody level are closely related to the disease activities. Nevertheless, exceptionally, some patients represent with negative ANA and/or anti-dsDNA antibody leading to difficulties in diagnosing the disease. Here, we report a case of 37-year old female SLE patient with negative ANA, negative anti-dsDNA antibody, and positive anti-Ro/SSA antibody, which manifested with nephrotic syndrome.