Perinuclear Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody (pANCA)

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) are a family of autoantibodies that react with proteins predominantly expressed in cytoplasmic granules of polymorphonuclear neutrophil granulocytes (PMNs). ANCA was initially detected using indirect immunofluorescence, there are mainly two different patterns of ANCA, including p-ANCA (perinuclear) and c-ANCA (cytoplasmic). Recently, it is common to detect thees autoantibodies by immunochemical assays such as ELISA, RIA by using purified proteins as antigens. 

These autoantibodies can be found in serum from patients with several kinds of autoimmune diseases, including systemic small-vessel vasculitis, Ulcerative Colitis, etc, and they are considered as biomarkers for these diseases.