title: Endotoxin and liver diseases. High titres of enterobacterial common antigen antibodies in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis.
abstract: We have measured antibodies to the enterobacterial common antigen (ECA) in sera of 86 patients with various liver diseases. ECA is a component of the cell wall of all enteric bacteria, and ECA antibodies are a specific indication of the presence of enterobacterial components. Patients with alcoholic cirrhosis with or without signs of alcoholic hepatitis had significantly raised anti-ECA titres compared with healthy control subjects. Other groups of patients (alcoholic hepatitis and/or fatty liver, primary biliary cirrhosis, chronic active hepatitis, or liver metastases) did not differ significantly from controls in the height of their anti-ECA titres. The results support the concept that Gram-negative bacterial components may have some role in the pathophysiology of alcoholic cirrhosis.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008104:Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial