title: Anti-M4 antibodies in primary biliary cirrhosis react with sulphite oxidase, an enzyme of the mitochondrial inter-membrane space.
abstract: Testing three anti-M2/anti-M4-positive and three anti-M2 positive/anti-M4-negative primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) marker sera against different mitochondrial enzymes by ELISA it could be shown that only the anti-M4-positive sera reacted with pyruvate dehydrogenase (M2) and sulphite oxidase (SO), an enzyme of the mitochondrial inter-membrane space in parallel. Absorption of these sera with SO abolished completely the anti-M4 antibodies but had no effect on the anti-M2 activity. The specificity of this reaction was also documented by examining 30 anti-M2/anti-M4-positive sera showing that 28 of them were positive with SO. Among ten anti-M2/anti-M8-positive but anti-M4-negative PBC sera, four became positive when tested against SO, indicating a higher sensitivity of SO for the demonstration of anti-M4. Retesting sera from 76 PBC patients with defined anti-mitochondrial antibody (AMA) profiles who had been followed for up to 18 years against SO by ELISA and complement fixation test (CFT), none of 32 patients with profile A B (positive for anti-M2 and/or anti-M9 by ELISA; benign course) but 33 of 44 patients with profile C/D (anti-M2/anti-M4 and or anti-M8 positive by CFT and or ELISA; progressive course) were positive. These data indicate that sulphite oxidase can be used in the ELISA for the detection of anti-M4 antibodies which may be of prognostic relevance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Berg
mesh_terms: D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000276:immunology*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology*; D050862:Oxidoreductases Acting on Sulfur Group Donors / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D050862:Oxidoreductases Acting on Sulfur Group Donors