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Diagnostic Value of Anti‐F‐Actin Antibodies in a French Multicenter Study
Author(s) -
CHRETIENLEPRINCE P,
BALLOT E,
ANDRE C,
OLSSON N O,
FABIEN N,
ESCANDE A,
OKSMAN F,
DUBUQUOI S,
JEGO S,
GOETZ J,
CHEVAILLER A,
SANMARCO M,
HUMBEL R L,
JOHANET C
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1313.028
Subject(s) - iif , autoimmune hepatitis , medicine , anti nuclear antibody , antibody , gastroenterology , sma* , pathology , population , hepatitis , immunology , autoantibody , mathematics , environmental health , combinatorics
A bstract : According to international criteria, autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) type 1 is characterized by the presence of antinuclear or anti‐smooth muscle antibodies (SMA) with F‐actin specificity. SMA have been found in 85% of AIH patients, but are not specific to this disease, and anti‐F‐actin specificity is not always verified when SMA are detected. The objective of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of anti‐F‐actin antibodies in a large population. A multicenter study involving 12 clinical centers was performed. Patients were selected on the basis of the presence of F‐actin SMA detected by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) on rat liver‐kidney‐stomach sections and was confirmed by IIF on Hep2 cells treated with colchicine, or F‐actin dot‐blot. The clinical status of patients was determined from their medical records. One hundred sixty‐eight patients were included: 76% women, 24% men; mean age of 45 years (range, 2–88 years), with a bimodal age distribution. Sixty percent had AIH type 1, and 40% had another disease. In the group of women younger than 25 years, 90% had AIH type 1. Other pathologies associated with antiactin were other liver diseases (19%), including viral hepatitis C (7%), and nonliver diseases (21%), including connective tissue diseases (12%). Antibody titers were higher in AIH than in other diseases. Antiactin antibodies are of major diagnostic value in AIH, especially in young women; they may be found in other disease settings, but mostly at low levels.