Anti-SLA seropositive autoimmune hepatitis sera recognize distinct subunits of glutathione S-transferase: high prevalence of the Ya autoantigen.

We have recently reported that anti-SLA seropositive autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) patients develop autoantibodies against glutathione S-transferase (GST). GSTs are multifunctional enzymes mediating hepatic detoxification of cytotoxic and genotoxic compounds and are also involved in biliary secretion. We have observed varying reactivity of individual AIH sera towards several GST isoenzymes. Since the GST subunits have very similar molar masses and therefore are not satisfactorily resolved by one-dimensional gel electrophoresis, we have performed their fractionation by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to better separate the individual GST isoenzymes. 4 individual GST subunits were isolated as judged by electrophoretic analysis of the 4 distinct peaks. The identity of isolated proteins was unequivocally determined by protein sequencing. Isolated subtypes were loaded on 15% SDS gels and blotted. Immunoblotting was performed with eleven anti-SLA positive sera that displayed differential reactivity with total GSTs. Fractionation of the GSTs by HPLC did not impair their ability to react with specific autoantibodies. Interestingly, the majority of GST-positive AIH sera reacted with one or two GST subtypes, only two sera recognized 3 subunits. Ya was most prevalent autoantigen. Autoantibodies against Yb2 were detected solely in one serum. This pattern of reactivity indicates that individual patients' sera discriminate between GST subunits despite their sequence homology. It is well known that the GST variants differ within their amino-terminal part while the residual moiety is highly conserved. It would suggest that autoantibodies recognize distinct epitopes located within amino-terminus of individual GST variants.