Anti-DFS70 antibodies are associated with acute Epstein-Barr virus infection: a pilot study

Introduction Anti-DFS70 antibodies are exclusion markers for systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD) in ANA-positive patients, but triggers for their production remain unclear. We investigated whether acute CMV and EBV infections are associated with anti-DFS70 levels. Materials and methods Thirty-seven serum samples were analyzed for CMV IgM, EBV VCA IgM (LIAISON®, DiaSorin), and anti-DFS70 antibodies (QUANTA Flash®, Inova Diagnostics) using Spearman correlation, Fisher's exact test, and Mann-Whitney U test. Results EBV VCA IgM showed a significant association with anti-DFS70 levels (Spearman ρ = +0.382, P = 0.020; Fisher OR = 9.35, P = 0.006): 68.8% of EBV-positive patients were anti-DFS70-positive versus 19.0% of EBV-negative. CMV IgM showed no association (ρ = −0.027, P = 0.873). Conclusions EBV infection showed a significant association with anti-DFS70 antibody levels. CMV IgM data were inconclusive due to the very high positivity rate (97.3%). Anti-DFS70 positivity during acute EBV infection may represent a virus-triggered phenomenon