T-lymphocyte sensitization to hepatocyte antigens in autoimmune chronic active hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis. Evidence for different underlying mechanisms and different antigenic determinants as targets.
Cultured with a liver-derived lipoprotein complex, T lymphocytes from 42 of 45 patients with autoimmune chronic active hepatitis generated migration inhibitory factor compared with 16 of 33 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. Unlike T lymphocytes from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, the T-cell reactivity of patients with chronic active hepatitis was always suppressed by T cells from normal subjects and, with two exceptions, by T cells from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, even when these latter cells exhibited sensitization to this same antigen complex. Using a component of the whole complex, the asialoglycoprotein receptor as antigen, migration inhibitory factor was invariably released by T cells from patients with autoimmune chronic active hepatitis, but from only 2 of 8 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis sensitized to the whole complex. Thus, in autoimmune chronic active hepatitis, but not in primary biliary cirrhosis, the asialoglycoprotein receptor is invariably a target for cellular immune reactions and is associated with a suppressor T-cell defect for hepatocyte antigens.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D037263:Asialoglycoprotein Receptor; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D002464:Cell Migration Inhibition; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007961:Leukocyte Migration-Inhibitory Factors / Q000276:immunology; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology*; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology
D000941:Antigens; D037263:Asialoglycoprotein Receptor; D001324:Autoantigens; D000939:Epitopes; D007961:Leukocyte Migration-Inhibitory Factors; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic