Primary biliary cirrhosis in female subjects with sicca-associated antibodies

• Published in: Modern rheumatology Vol. 17; no. 6; pp. 486 - 491
• Main Authors: Takada, Kunio, Suzuki, Kimihiro, Matsumoto, Mitsuyo, Okada, Makoto, Nakanishi, Takashi, Horikoshi, Hideyuki, Higuchi, Tomoaki, Ohsuzu, Fumitaka
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Informa Healthcare 01.12.2007; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Aged; Alkaline phosphatase; Alkaline Phosphatase - blood; Anti-La antibodies; Anti-Ro antibodies; Antibodies, Antinuclear - blood; Antibodies, Antinuclear - immunology; Anticentromere antibodies; Autoantigens - blood; Autoantigens - immunology; Biomarkers - blood; Centromere - immunology; Female; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary - diagnosis; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary - enzymology; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary - immunology; Middle Aged; Primary biliary cirrhosis; Ribonucleoproteins - blood; Ribonucleoproteins - immunology; SS-B Antigen
• ISSN: 1439-7595; 1439-7609
• DOI: 10.3109/s10165-007-0631-6

Abstract The aim of this study is to clarify the time course of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) in subjects possessing anticentromere antibodies (ACA), anti-Ro, and/or anti-La antibodies, and who used alkaline phosphatase (ALP) as a serological marker for PBC. Female subjects (n = 165), who had at least one of ACA, anti-Ro, and/or anti-La, were enrolled in this study. Groups A (ACA alone, n = 44), B (anti-Ro alone, n = 54), E (anti-Ro and anti-La, n = 52), and DFG (ACA with anti-Ro and/or anti-La, n = 14) were analyzed. Healthy females (n = 65) were used as a control. The frequencies of the PBC in groups A (13.6%) and DFG (14.3%) were higher than those in groups B (1.9%) and E (0.0%). The ALP levels increased with age in groups A and DFG and slightly increased with age in groups B and C, and the control group. After correcting for age by analysis of covariance, a comparison of ALP levels among the groups not having anti-M2 was as follows: group A ≒ group DFG > group B ≒ group E ≒ the control group. The subjects with ACA might thus have PBC more frequently than either those with anti-Ro and/or anti-La, or the control subjects.