Lupus Erythematosus Cell Test Magath And Winkle Method: A Diagnostic Test for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Lupus Erythematosus (LE) cells were first discovered in 1948 by American clinical hematologists, Malcolm Hargraves and Robert Morton and a laboratory technician, Helen Richmond. Named LE cells because they are typically found in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) disease and are one of the antinuclear autoantibodies found in autoimmune diseases. LE cells are easily recognized under a microscope in the form of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), usually neutrophils containing a homogeneous mass (LE Body) that is spherical in shape and reddish-purple in color, the nuclear lobes are pushed to one side and thinned, appearing trapped around the LE body. The LE cell test is carried out by destroying leukocyte cells so that they release their nucleoprotein and react with Immunoglobulin (Ig) G and this complex is phagocytized by normal PMN cells that are still present. The LE cell test was first performed to diagnose SLE, but is now rarely used because it has been replaced by a better test, namely the antinuclear antibody test (ANA) to diagnose SLE. However, LE cells are still considered the most important cells by some rheumatologists in the medical world. The LE cell test can be done in several ways, namely: the Magath and Winkle method (a modification of Zimmer and Hargraves), the Zinkham and Conley method, and the Mudrick method. Samples that can be used in the LE Cell test are: Heparinized venous blood, Oxalated venous blood, Defibrinated venous blood, and Clotted venous blood.