Context
Antibodies to the Ro (SSA) and La (SSB) antigens are common in patients with Sjogren's syndrome and systematic lupus erythematosis (SLE). These autoantibodies are known to be associated with specific clinical phenotypes, and skin involvement and congenital heart block in particular. In a differential display analysis on CD8+ cells untreated or treated with Murabutide, a drug active against HIV replication, the authors detected and cloned a novel protein of 56kDa (predicted). This protein, called SS-56, was 66% homologous and 43% identical to the SSA/Ro antigen. Therefore, the authors decided to investigate if there were autoantibodies to SS-56.