The majority of people with scleroderma (SSc) have gastrointestinal problems. Although permeability alterations in the gut wall are common, few research has looked into them. Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) positivity is linked to increased permeability in the intestine. In this study, researchers look at ASCA positively in SSc patients and see how it is related to clinical, serological, and epidemiological data. Using an ELISA test, 74 SSc patients and 57 healthy controls were tested for ASCA (IgG and IgA) positive. In SSc patients, ASCA positive were linked to demographic, clinical severity index (Medsger score), and serological data.
ASCA-IgG was positive in 32/74 (43.2%) SSc patients and 1/57 (1.7%) controls (p<0.0001), but ASCA-IgA was positive in 12/74 (16.2%) SSc patients and 3/57 (5.2%) controls (p=0.05). ASCA-IgG was favorably linked with African ethnic background (p<0.001) and negatively associated with anticentromere antibodies (p=0.013) in univariate analysis; ASCA-IgA was negatively associated with Medsger score (p=0.05) in univariate analysis. ASCA-IgG was shown to be linked with African ethnicity in multivariate analysis.
Scleroderma patients are more likely than controls to be positive for ASCA-IgG and ASCA-IgA. ASCA-IgG positive is higher among African descendants. In individuals with a more advanced condition, ASCA-IgA is less common.
