Serum antibodies to thymus epithelial cells in non-A, non-B and cryptogenic chronic liver disease.

Liver
F CassaniE Pisi

Abstract

Antibodies against thymus epithelial cells (anti-TEC) and the basal cell layer (BCLA) of squamous epithelia have been described in association with HDV-related chronic liver disease (CLD). Data are lacking on their presence during nAnB virus infection. Sera from 51 patients with nAnB post-transfusion hepatitis, including acute and chronic cases diagnosed during a prospective study on candidates for cardiac surgery, and 167 with various forms of CLD were tested for the presence of anti-TEC and BCLA using indirect immunofluorescence on human thymus and rat forestomach sections. Both antibodies mainly occurred in nAnB, HDV and cryptogenic CLD (anti-TEC: 51%, 47% and 42%; BCLA: 29%, 38% and 31%, respectively). The prevalence of anti-TEC in nAnB CLD turned out to be higher than that recorded in alcoholic, HBV-related, autoimmune, liver and kidney microsomal antibody positive CLD and primary biliary cirrhosis (p ranging from less than 0.03 to less than 0.0004). Two monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) to cytokeratins gave a pattern superimposable on that of spontaneous anti-TEC (both Mabs) and BCLA (only one). Antibodies against epithelial constituents, presumably targeting cytokeratin-associated antigens, occur not only in HDV CLD, as previ...Continue Reading

References

Jan 1, 1985·Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology·R LenkeiP Biberfeld
Aug 1, 1986·Journal of Clinical Pathology·D ZauliE Pisi
Nov 1, 1984·Hepatology : Official Journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases·D ZauliE Pisi
Nov 1, 1981·Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology·J S PedersenG N Shyamala

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