Original Research Article
Year: 2022 | Month: September | Volume: 12 | Issue: 9 | Pages: 8-11
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20220902
The Significance of Cytoplasmic Fluorescence Antinuclear Antibody in Autoimmune Liver Diseases
Margarita Kurti
Department of Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania
ABSTRACT
Autoimmune liver disease (AILD) is a rare immune-mediated chronic liver disease with heterogeneous clinical characteristics. There are many cases of hepatitis and cholestasis of unknown etiology that Antinuclear antibody (ANA) are accompanied by specific antibodies for AILD.
We aimed to determine the significance of cytoplasmic antinuclear antibody (ANA) patterns in patients with AILD.
Material and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients were sent to our laboratory from 2016 till 2020 for ANA, Smooth muscle antibody (SMA) and Antimitochondrial antibody (AMA). We examined the diagnoses of the 218 excluded patients. ANA, AMA, SMA were performed by Immunofluorescence test (IFT). Fluorescence intensity was interpreted semi quantitatively
Results: Among 218 cases, 74 (29.4%) resulted as ANA positive and 120 (55%) resulted as cytoplasmic fluorescence positive. ANA resulted positive only in 29 cases. 45 cases resulted as ANA positive and cytoplasmic fluorescence positive. Of interest to study were 75 cases which resulted as ANA negative and cytoplasmic fluorescence positive. Only 69 cases resulted seronegative. All cases with positivity of cytoplasmic fluorescence, regardless of ANA resulted as 82 anti-SMA positive, 3 AMA positive and anti-SMA positive, 35 AMA positive. Furthermore, patients with AILD who exhibited a reticular ANA pattern demonstrated a higher positive rate for AMA 33 (86.8%) and those with the speckled ANA pattern displayed a higher positive rate for SMA 53 (64.6%).
Conclusion: Therefore, cytoplasmic ANA patterns could be used to guide AILD characterization in suspected AILD cases. Thus, it is important to check cytoplasmic ANA patterns for AILD evaluation, even when nuclear ANA patterns are negative.
Key words: Autoimmune liver disease, Antinuclear antibody, Smooth muscle antibody, Antimitochondrial antibody, Immunofluorescence test.