Identification of citrullinated rheumatoid arthritis‐specific epitopes in natural filaggrin relevant for antifilaggrin autoantibody detection by line immunoassay

Abstract

Citrullinated residues are present in immunoreactive epitopes of natural human filaggrin. AFA can be readily detected by citrullinated peptides in an LIA-based test, resulting in high specificity and positive predictive value for RA. The LIA could serve as a user-friendly alternative to existing immunofluorescence tests and AFA immunoblot techniques. Given its complementarity to RF, this test can be a valuable tool in the differential diagnosis of arthritis.