Evaluation of Anti-dsDNA Antibodies in Laboratory Practice: Management of Different Analytical Methods and Correlation with HEp-2 Immunofluorescence Patterns

Our findings indicate that anti-dsDNA antibody detection may occur independently of HEp-2 IIF positivity and that FEIA, especially when confirmed by immunoblot, represents a reliable approach for anti-dsDNA assessment. The observed results in this study likely reflect differences in epitope recognition and assay sensitivity among methods, suggesting the use of a multi-step diagnostic strategy in the serological evaluation of SLE.