Korean J Med.
2000 Jul;59(1):85-90.
A case of conventional antimitochondrial antibody test-negative primary biliary cirrhosis
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Internal Medicine, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. kimbh@khmc.or.kr
Abstract
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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.