Background
The LE cell phenomenon is a classical test for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Granulocytes engulf bodies, the nature of which has not been unequivocally demonstrated. Hypotheses range from isolated nuclei to intact cells undergoing apoptosis. Using the fact that it is autoantibodies to histone H1 that induce this phenomenon, which thus have to bind the material in question, we investigated histone H1 accessibility to antibodies.