The IgG antibody reactivity of sera from patients with active chronic hepatitis to a crude liver antigen and liver specific protein (LSP): analysis by ELISA and immunoblotting.

The antibody reactivity to liver specific protein (LSP) and a crude liver antigen of sera from patients with chronic active hepatitis (CAH) were studied along with other related diseases and healthy individuals. CAH sera containing liver reacting antibodies were selected using an ELISA with a crude liver preparation as antigen and subsequently the specificity was analysed by immunoblotting of SDS-PAGE-separated LSP. The incidence of IgG antibodies to the crude liver antigen and LSP in sera from 15 patients with CAH was 94% and 55% respectively. In the healthy control group (n = 30) the corresponding figures were 3% and 17%. Sera from patients with other autoimmune conditions with considerable reactivity in the crude liver ELISA test were those with antibodies against extractable nuclear antigens (ENA) and thyroid gland antigens, while the anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) group as a whole did not differ from the control group. In immunoblotting of SDS-PAGE-separated crude liver and LSP antigens, the IgG binding pattern of ELISA IgG positive CAH sera and sera from patients with thyroid disease was distinct, with bands corresponding to antigens of molecular weights of 38, 45 and 50 kD which were not observed in ELISA negative CAH sera or in sera from patients with other diseases and among healthy controls.