A wide variety of auto-antibodies have been described in a diverse group of multi-system connective tissue diseases. As a general rule, these tests are less sensitive but have a much higher degree of specificity than other serologic tests. Thus antibodies to double-stranded DNA have a high degree of specificity for SLE, and a variety of antibodies to ENA, either alone or in combination, have been variously described as variable specificity for other multi-system connective tissue diseases. C-ANCA has a high degree of specificity for Wegener's granulomatosis with renal involvement. As a general rule, these auto-antibodies have both a positive and negative predictive value for certain autoimmune diseases.

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