Editorial
Copyright ©2010 Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 7, 2010; 16(29): 3616-3629
Published online Aug 7, 2010. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i29.3616
Primary biliary cirrhosis: What do autoantibodies tell us?
Chao-Jun Hu, Feng-Chun Zhang, Yong-Zhe Li, Xuan Zhang
Chao-Jun Hu, Feng-Chun Zhang, Yong-Zhe Li, Xuan Zhang, Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100032, China
Author contributions: Zhang X and Zhang FC designed the research; Hu CJ and Li YZ collected and analyzed the data; Hu CJ wrote the paper; Zhang X edited the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Xuan Zhang, Professor, Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, No.41 Da Mu Cang, Western District, Beijing 100032, China. zxpumch2003@yahoo.com.cn
Telephone: +86-10-88068800 Fax: +86-10-88068795
Received: March 15, 2010
Revised: April 28, 2010
Accepted: May 5, 2010
Published online: August 7, 2010
Abstract

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic, progressive, cholestatic, organ-specific autoimmune disease of unknown etiology. It predominantly affects middle-aged women, and is characterized by autoimmune-mediated destruction of small- and medium-size intrahepatic bile ducts, portal inflammation and progressive scarring, which without proper treatment can ultimately lead to fibrosis and hepatic failure. Serum autoantibodies are crucial tools for differential diagnosis of PBC. While it is currently accepted that antimitochondrial antibodies are the most important serological markers of PBC, during the last five decades more than sixty autoantibodies have been explored in these patients, some of which had previously been thought to be specific for other autoimmune diseases.

Keywords: Primary biliary cirrhosis; Autoimmune disease; Autoantibody; Anti-mitochondrial antibody; Anti-gp210 antibody; Anti-sp100 antibody; Anti-centromere antibodies