Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies in primary biliary cirrhosis.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate, retrospectively, the frequency of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).


METHODS
ASCA, IgG, and IgA, were determined by ELISA in sera of 95 PBC patients; 80 healthy blood donors served as controls.


RESULTS
The frequency of ASCA (IgG or IgA) was significantly higher in PBC patients than in the control group (24.2% vs 3.7%, P = 0.0001). The frequency of ASCA IgG and ASCA IgA in PBC patients was also significantly higher than that found in the control group (18.9% vs 2.5%, P = 0.0006 and 11.6% vs 1.2%, P = 0.007, respectively). Six patients out of 95 (6.3%) had both ASCA IgG and ASCA IgA; in contrast, none of the control group had both isotypes (P = 0.02). There was no correlation between ASCA levels and mitochondrial autoantibodies (AMA) titres in PBC patients.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that ASCA are common in patients with PBC.
Research Unit of Auto-immunity and Allergy (03UR/07-02), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia.
Wahiba
W
Sakly
Moncef
M
Jeddi
Ibtissem
I
Ghedira
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000908:Antibodies, Fungal / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000276:immunology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D000908:Antibodies, Fungal