Autoantibodies against B23, a nucleolar phosphoprotein, occur in scleroderma and are associated with pulmonary hypertension

Abstract

These data unite B23 with the group of nucleolar autoantigens targeted in scleroderma and thus focus attention on changes in the nucleolus that render its components immunogenic in this disease. The demonstration that antibodies to B23 are associated with an increased prevalence of pulmonary hypertension points to anti-B23 antibodies as a possible marker of a specific phenotype in scleroderma.