Abstract Background The dense fine speckled (DFS) pattern (AC-2) is often observed in antinuclear antibody (ANA) indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) assay, and the related anti-DFS70 known to be negatively associated with a systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease (SARD). Identifying AC-2 challenging, as it could generally confused AC-1, AC-4, AC-5, or AC-29 patterns displaying stained metaphase pla...