The significance of antiphospholipid antibodies tests

Abstract

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disease defined by the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (APL) in plasma of patients with thrombosis and/or pregnancy morbidity. In the classification criteria of APS, the presence of lupus anticoagulant (LA), anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) or anti-β2-glycoprotein I antibodies (aβ2GPI) is necessary to diagnose APS. Recently, we defined "antiphospholipid score (aPL-S)" and evaluate the predictive value for thrombosis. In the study, aPL-S may be a predictive marker for developing thrombosis in patients with autoimmune diseases. In this article, we explain various APL assays for diagnosing APS in a clinical practice, introduce the study of "aPL-S", and discuss the significance of APL tests not only for a diagnosis of APS but also for a predictive marker of thrombosis in patients with autoimmune diseases. © 2013 The Japan Society for Clinical Immunology.