The clinical utility of anti-ribosomal P autoantibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect multiple organs and thus has a large spectrum of clinical presentations. Assessment of the autoantibody profile is fundamental for the clinical management of SLE patients, providing important data for diagnosis, clinical characterization and disease activity evaluation. Anti-ribosomal P protein (anti-Rib-P, anti-P) antibody, described in the 1980s, is a serological marker for SLE that is present in 13-20% of cases. This reactivity was initially thought to be associated with neuropsychiatric involvement in SLE, with certain conflicting results. Subsequently, associations of anti-Rib-P with liver and renal involvement in lupus were reported. Recently, anti-Rib-P was detected in autoimmune hepatitis patients. Anti-Rib-P reactivity to Trypanosoma cruzi ribosomal target antigens in patients with Chagas heart disease has also been described. This review focuses on the usefulness of the determination of anti-Rib-P in SLE and in other autoimmune and non-autoimmune disorders in clinical practice.