Correlation between anti‐rana and anti‐ebna titers in normal subjects with and without hla‐drw4

We have determined the relationship of antibody titers to the rheumatoid arthritis nuclear antigen (RANA) and of antibody titers to the Epstein‐Barr nuclear antigen (EBNA) to each other and to the DRw4 B cell alloantigen in the sera of 34 normal white adults. By a sensitive indirect immunofluorescence (IF) assay, 76% had RANA antibody, compared to 23% by a micro‐immunodiffusion assay. The correlation coefficient for the tube dilution titers of anti‐RANA and anti‐EBNA was 0.61 (P < 10^‐4). The 14 DRw4‐positive subjects and the 20 DRw4‐negative subjects did not differ with respect to anti‐RANA titers (P = 0.51) or anti‐EBNA titers (P = 0.89). We conclude that: 1) most normal adults have RANA antibody by IF; 2) anti‐RANA and anti‐EBNA titers are closely related; 3) the titers of these antibodies cannot be related to the presence of the DRw4 determinant in normal persons.