Abstract
Sera from 160 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (group I) were examined for antinuclear antibodies (ANA) by indirect immunofluorescence using 3 types of cultured cells as substrate: human hepatoma cell (PLC/PRF/5), human larygeal carcinoma cell (HEp-2) and baby hamster kidney cell (BHK). Sixty six sera from patients with non-hepatic cancers (group II), 62 sera from patients with chronic liver disease (group III) and 235 sera of normal subjects (group IV) were tested as controls. The incidences of ANA which was detected in HEp-2 or PLC/PRF/5 but not in BHK were as follows, 36 patients (22.5%) in group I, 19 patients (27.5%) in group II, 12 patients (19.4%) in group III and only 1 case (0.4%) in group IV. Reciprocal titers of ANA that were positive against HEp-2 but negative against BHK in group I or II were higher than in group III or IV. Two sera of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma reacted with nuclei of HEp-2 and PLC/PRF/5 were investigated further for ANA by indirect immunofluorescence using other 4 types of transformed cells and 4 types of non-transformed cells. We observed that the ANA in these two sera reacted only with transformed cells differed from that in sera of patient with SLE. It was suggested that the ANA reacting only with nuclei of transformed cells was present in sera of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the nature of nuclear antigens against the antibody remains unidentified.
