Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody staining patterns. Indirect immunofluorescence of ethanol-fixed ...

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody staining patterns. Indirect immunofluorescence of ethanol-fixed human neutrophils demonstrates either (a) perinuclear (pANCA) or (b) cytoplasmic (cANCA) staining patterns. pANCA staining is more commonly seen in patients with ulcerative colitis and vasculitis whereas cANCA staining is associated with Wegener's granulomatosis. The differentiated staining pattern is specific for ethanol-fixed neutrophils; antibodies that demonstrate pANCA staining in ethanol-fixed cells have a diffuse cytoplasmic staining pattern in formalin fixed neutrophils