title: Prevalence of autoantibodies to the p53 protein in autoimmune hepatitis.
abstract: The target antigens of anti-nuclear autoantibodies in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) are poorly characterised. Since antibodies to the p53 nuclear protein have been reported in various autoimmune diseases, we have assessed the prevalence of these antibodies in patients with AIH (n = 45), primary biliary cirrhosis (n = 60), hepatitis B (n = 22), hepatitis C (n = 55), and in a control group of subjects with various non-liver diseases (n = 56). A significant proportion of patients with AIH (31%) had elevated levels of autoantibodies to the p53 protein. In contrast, the prevalence of these antibodies in primary biliary cirrhosis (8%) and viral hepatitis (6%) was similar to that in the control group (4%). The clinical features of the anti-p53 seropositive AIH patients were similar to those of the seronegative ones. Thus, the prevalence of p53 autoantibodies in AIH is higher than in other forms of chronic hepatitis, and may be useful in differential diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: The I. Department of Medicine, Johannes Gutenberg University, Langenbeckstr. 1, 55101 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Herkel
authors.forename: Jan-Philip
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Modrow
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bamberger
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanzler
authors.forename: Varda
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rotter
authors.forename: Irun R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Ansgar W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Lohse
mesh_terms: D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D019693:Hepatitis, Autoimmune / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53