Antinuclear antibodies (ANA)

The antinuclear antibody (ANA) test is used as a primary test to help evaluate a person for autoimmune disorders that affect many tissues and organs throughout the body (systemic) and is most often used as one of the tests to help diagnose systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

ANA are a group of autoantibodies produced by a person’s immune system when it fails to adequately distinguish between “self” and “nonself.” They target substances found in the nucleus of a cell and cause organ and tissue damage.

Depending on a person’s signs and symptoms and the suspected disorder, ANA testing may be used along with or followed by other autoantibody tests. Some of these tests are considered subsets of the general ANA test and detect the presence of autoantibodies that target specific substances within cell nuclei, including anti-dsDNA, anti-centromere, anti-nucleolar, anti-histone and anti-RNA antibodies.

• Sample of blood serum
• We perform the test daily