Liver Antibody

Some autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) patients may have ANA antibodies and high titre smooth muscle antibodies. ( Low titre smooth muscle antibodies are very common, and often associated with infection.) Another group of AIH patients have negative ANA and positive LKM antibodies. Sometimes pANCA and mitochondrial antibodies may be present. Almost all patients with primary biliary cirrhosis have anti-mitochondrial antibodies. There are a number of patterns of mitochondrial staining, but it is the M2 pattern, which is specific for PBC. Atypical mitochondrial patterns are referred for immunoblotting techniques. Typically the total IgM level is raised.

Other Comments:

Negative