DETECTION OF ANTIBODY AND ANTIBODY DEPENDENT CELL- MEDIATED CYTOTOXICITY (ADCC) AGAINST CHANG LIVER CELL IN ALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE

Abstract

The antibodies which react with Chang liver cell membrane were detected in the sera of 26 (58%) of 45 patients with alcoholic liver disease by radioimmunoassay using 125I protein A and the antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) against Chang liver cell was demonstrated in the sera of 11 (38%) of 29 patients. There was a close correlation between the presence of antibody and the ADCC. Moreover the ADCC has been shown to be mediated by the anti-Chang liver cell membrane antibody.
There was also a close association between the presence of the anti-Chang liver cell membrane antibody and the degree of a lymphocytic infiltration in the portal tracts on liver biopsy, a characteristic finding seen in an autoimmune disorder of chronic active hepatitis.
It is suggested that the production of autoantibody to liver cell membrane may be important in the progression of alcoholic hepatitis to more advanced liver disease.