Abstract |
To investigate the possible involvement of autoimmune mechanisms in the development of hepatosplenic schistosomiasis (HSS), 234 patients with chronic Schistosoma mansoni infections were screened for a wide range of non-organ-specific autoantibodies as well as for antibodies reacting with the GOR peptide and with a liver-specific autoantigen, the hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor ( ASGP-R). Thirty-five (15.0%) were seropositive for antinuclear, smooth muscle or gastric parietal cell antibodies at low titres (< or = 1:80), and 15/176 (8.5%) had anti-GOR, all of whom had concomitant hepatitis C viral (HCV) infections. Anti- ASGP-R was found in 64 (27.4%) of the 234 patients at titres similar to those found in 18 untreated auto-immune hepatitis patients studied concurrently. Anti- ASGP-R seropositivity occurred significantly (P < 0.005) more frequently in patients with HSS (62/190, 32.6%) than in those with hepatointestinal schistosomiasis (2/44, 4.5%), but did not correlate with severity of liver disease or with the presence of the non-organ-specific autoantibodies. Anti- ASGP-R was found significantly (P < < 0.0005) less frequently in HSS patients who had had a splenectomy for portal hypertension (5/86, 5.8%) than in those who had not had a splenectomy (57/104, 54.8%). The findings suggest that liver-specific autoreactivity may play a role in the development of HSS.
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Authors | L M Pereira, B M McFarlane, P Massarolo, M G Saleh, C Bridger, V Spinelli, S Mies, I G McFarlane |
Journal | Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
(Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg)
1997 May-Jun
Vol. 91
Issue 3
Pg. 310-4
ISSN: 0035-9203 [Print] England |
PMID | 9231205
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
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Chemical References |
- Antibodies, Antinuclear
- Asialoglycoprotein Receptor
- Asialoglycoproteins
- Autoantibodies
- Immunoglobulin G
- Receptors, Cell Surface
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Topics |
- Adolescent
- Adult
- Aged
- Antibodies, Antinuclear
(analysis)
- Antibody Specificity
- Asialoglycoprotein Receptor
- Asialoglycoproteins
(immunology)
- Autoantibodies
(analysis)
- Child
- Female
- Humans
- Immunoglobulin G
(analysis)
- Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic
(immunology)
- Liver Diseases, Parasitic
(immunology)
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Muscle, Smooth
(immunology)
- Parietal Cells, Gastric
(immunology)
- Receptors, Cell Surface
(immunology)
- Schistosomiasis mansoni
(complications, immunology)
- Splenic Diseases
(etiology)
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