are a specific marker in scleroderma patients(specificity 98-100%) and are related with the existence of diffuse skin involvement and pulmonary fibrosis. In human tissues top1 enzyme is primarily synthesized as a protein with a molecular weight of 100-kDa. Most of this precursor is then proteolytically processed to a 70-kDa size, from which the TOP1 antigen has derived its name.