The analysis of anticcp antibodies in the serum: a comparison between the patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease that causes inflammation, pain, stiffness and destructive changes in the joints. Although, Rheumatoid Factor (RF), has been the primary blood test used to detect RA, the anti-ccp antibodies detection test is a relatively new assay to detect the citrulline antibodies in blood. These autoantibodies are produced by immune system in response to a perceived threat of citrulline, an amino acid produced from arginine in the citrullination process. The objective of this study was to investigate the presence and prediction value of anti-ccp in RA patients and evaluate its sensitivity and specificity comparing to that of classic laboratory tests, CRP and RF. The serum of 84 patients with RA and 80 healthy control subjects were enrolled into the study. The anti-ccp, RF and CRP levels in the serums were assayed by ELISA and agglutination procedure, respectively. Our results provided evidence that anti-ccp level was significantly higher in patients with RA comparing to that of corresponding controls (p<0.0001). Anti-ccp was found to have the highest sensitivity and specificity (91%-91%) comparing to the other two tests (RF, CRP). The latter tests were found to have (97%- 92%) and (27%- 75%) sensitivity and specificity, respectively. The diagnostic value of anti-ccp is better than RF and CRP, individually. It can be detected early in the disease in unselected early arthritis patients. It is recommended to use RF test together with anti-ccp antibodies detection, in RA patients to ensure a higher diagnostic effectiveness