Preciitating antibodies to mitochondrial antigens in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis

Sera of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) were examined for the presence of precipitating antibodies to sonicated rat liver mitochondrial (M) fraction. Three distinct precipitating systems observed in double immunodiffusion were identified and called M-A, M-B and M-C. Unsonicated mitochondria did not form precipitin lines. Precipitating system M-A was found in nineteen of twenty (95 percent) sera from PBC. The mitochondrial antigen of M-A system had the unusual property of being resistant to enzymatic digestion with deoxyribonuclease (DNase), ribonuclease (RNase) and trypsin under standard conditions. The titres of antibody to M-A antigen correlated (P less than 0.05) with titres of mitochondrial immunofluorescence staining on unfixed mouse kidney sections. Precipitating systems M-B and M-C were present in seven of twenty ribonuclease and trypsin but resistant to ribonuclease indicating that it could be DNA-protein complex. The M-C antigen was destroyed by trypsin suggesting its protein character, but it was difficult to determine if nucleic acids might also be associated with antigenicity. The antibodies to mitochondrial antigens were not present in normals (fifteen health adults), systemic lupus erythematosus (forty patients), rheumatoid arthritis (fifteen patients) and chronic liver diseases (fifteen patients). The antibodies did not show identity with antibodies to ribosomal ribonucleo-protein and other known nuclear antigens previously reported. The data confirm previous reports concerning the heterogeneity of mitochondrial antibodies present in sera of patients with PBC. The antibody to M-A antigen appeared to be a diagnostically useful immunological marker since it was present in the majority of patients with PBC.