The role of autoantibodies as diagnostic markers of autoimmune hepatitis.
Autoantibody testing is the first step towards the diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis, and it is essential in the evaluation of acute and chronic hepatitis of undetermined cause and allograft dysfunction following liver transplantation. A standard diagnostic repertoire has been promulgated, and other autoantibodies are emerging that may have prognostic value. Supplemental autoantibodies may prove useful in assessing patients who lack the standard markers or who are distinctive among those with conventional markers. Serologic testing will improve as assays are standardized by serum exchange workshops, core diagnostic batteries are codified and promulgated, and markers emerge that are tightly associated with pathogenic mechanisms, and closely reflect disease activity and outcome.
Czaja
Albert J
AJ
Mayo Clinic, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street S.W., Rochester, MN 55905, USA. czaja.albert@mayo.edu