Features of autoimmunity in cryptogenic chronic hepatitis

The presence of autoantibodies in 125 patients with cryptogenic chronic hepatitis (CH) was assessed by indirect immunofluorescence (IFL) on standard tissue sections and on Hep-2 cells. Smooth muscle antibodies (SMA) were found in a high percentage of patients without any difference between the anti-HBc positive and the anti-HBc negative subsets, but the antiactin pattern, suggestive of autoimmunity, was detected only in a small number of cases. Low-titer antinuclear antibodies (ANA) were found in CH but also in healthy controls on Hep-2 cells. No significant differences were found in the prevalence of SMA and ANA positivity in various histologic subgroups of CH. Amongst 37 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) the use of Hep-2 cells allowed better evaluation of ANA patterns and identified the multiple nuclear dots (MND) pattern, unrecognisable on tissue sections, in 9 cases.