Analysis of autoimmune liver disease-associated antibodies in infants with biliary atresia

Abstract

Objective To explore the prevalence of autoimmune liver disease-associated antibodies in infants with biliary atresia (BA) and explore the significance in diagnosis and pathogenesis of BA. Methods Autoimmune liver disease-associated antibodies were detected by line immunoassay (LIA) in 81 BA patients, 48 disease controls and 40 healthy controls.The autoimmune liver disease-associated antibodies included PBC-associated autoantibodies (AMA-M2, anti-M2-3E, anti-Sp100, anti-PML & anti-gp210), AIH-associated autoantibodies (anti-LKM-1, anti-LC-1 & anti-SLA/LP) and anti-Ro-52.In particular, coated antigen of AMA-M2 was natively purified from bovine heart while M2-3E from a recombinant fusion protein including E2 subunits of BCOAH, PDH, and OGDH. Results With an overall positive rate of 18.5%, positive reactions to PBC-associated autoantibodies in BA patients were observed in 14.8% (anti-M2-3E), 3.7% (anti-PML), 2.5% (anti-gp210), 1.2% (AMA-M2) and 1.2% (anti-Sp100) respectively.Among them, the positive rates of anti-M2-3E were higher in BA patients than those in healthy controls (χ2=5.025, P=0.025) and disease controls (P>0.05). The positive rates of anti-LC-1 were 7.4%, 6.3% and 7.5% in BA infants, disease controls and healthy controls respectively (P>0.05) whereas other AIH-associated autoantibodies (anti-LKM-1, anti-SLA/LP) were not found.The positive rates of anti-Ro-52 were 6.2%, 4.2% and 5% in BA infants, disease controls and healthy controls (P>0.05). Conclusions Autoimmune liver disease-associated antibodies are detected in BA sera.And anti-M2-3E has a higher positive rate.Eliciting humoral autoimmunity may play vital roles in the pathogenesis of BA.It may also provide clues for finding out serological diagnostic marker of BA and further understanding the immune pathogenesis of BA. Key words: Biliary atresia; Autoantibody; Cholestasis