Korean J Med.  2000 Jul;59(1):85-90.

A case of conventional antimitochondrial antibody test-negative primary biliary cirrhosis

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. kimbh@khmc.or.kr

Abstract

Primary biliary cirrhosis is a chronic progressive cholestatic liver disease of unknown cause that usually affects middle-aged women and eventually leads to cirrhosis and liver failure. It is characterized by the progressive destruction of small intrahepatic bile ducts, portal inflammation, and progressive scarring. The diagnosis is made by these characteristic pathologic findings and the presence of antimitochondrial antibody. Immunofluorescence, the most widely used method for determining antimitochondrial antibody, is less sensitive and specific than ELISA or immunoblotting and influenced by observer interpretation. Therefore, it is important to detect anti-M2 antibody, the most specific antibody of primary biliary cirrhosis, by ELISA or immunoblotting when antimitochondrial antibody is not detected by immunofluorescence method which can lead to the incorrect diagnosis as autoimmune cholangitis. We describe a case of primary biliary cirrhosis with antimitochondrial antibody negative by immunofluorescence, anti-M2 antibody positive by ELISA. We confirmed primary biliary cirrhosis by liver biopsy.

Keyword

Liver cirrhosis, Biliary; Antimitochondrial antibody; Anti-M2 antibody; Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent assay

MeSH Terms

Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic
Biopsy
Cholangitis
Cicatrix
Diagnosis
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Female
Fibrosis
Fluorescent Antibody Technique
Humans
Immunoblotting
Inflammation
Liver
Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary*
Liver Diseases
Liver Failure
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