Abstract
In the development of autoimmune chronic active hepatitis (AIH), the pathogenic relevance of autoimmune responses against asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) has been implicated. We have previously developed a capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of anti-ASGPR antibodies and found a high prevalence of anti-ASGPR antibodies in AIH and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). In this study, to clarify the clinical significance of the measurement of anti-ASGPR antibodies in autoimmune liver diseases we studied correlations between the titer of anti-ASGPR antibody and various laboratory data, activity and stage of the disease. We also determined the isotype of the anti-ASGPR antibody. In AIH, the anti-ASGPR antibody titer was positively correlated with serum γ-globulin and IgM values, but not with serum transaminase. The anti-ASGPR antibody titer in histologicallyactive disease with piecemeal necrosis was significantly higher than that in quiescent disease. The most common Isotype of anti-ASGPR antibodies detected in active AIH was IgM. We encountered a case of AIH where the titer of IgM anti-ASGPR antibody decreased by induction of remission with steroid therapy. These results suggest that the measurement of IgM isotype anti-ASGPR antibody might be useful for the evaluation of disease activity and effects of therapy in AIH patients.
