Positive antimitochondrial antibody but normal serum alkaline phosphatase levels: Could it be primary biliary cholangitis?

Tania Berdichevski*, Oranit Cohen-Ezra, Orit Pappo, Ziv Ben-Ari

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Aim: Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease, typically diagnosed by elevated cholestatic liver enzymes and a positive antimitochondrial antibody (AMA) test. The clinical significance of AMA positivity in patients with normal cholestatic liver enzymes is uncertain. Methods: Charts of patients with normal cholestatic liver enzymes and AMA positivity who underwent liver biopsy between 2012 and 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Six AMA-positive patients with normal cholestatic liver enzymes who underwent a liver biopsy were identified. Four (67%) showed florid bile duct lesion compatible with early-stage PBC, whereas the other two showed mild and non-specific histological findings. The patients with histological findings compatible with PBC had higher enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-determined AMA titers and significantly elevated immunoglobulin M (IgM) level. Patients with non-specific histological findings (33%) had low-titer AMA and a borderline elevated IgM level. Conclusions: Antimitochondrial antibody-positive patients with normal cholestatic liver enzymes should be meticulously evaluated for PBC including a liver biopsy, mainly in patients with high-titer seropositivity for AMA and a significantly elevated IgM level. More studies are required to clarify the role of liver biopsy in these patients and further follow-up may elucidate the relationship of these patients to those with more classical forms of PBC.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)742-746
Number of pages5
JournalHepatology Research
Volume47
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2017

Keywords

  • antimitochondrial antibody
  • cholestatic liver enzymes
  • florid bile duct lesion
  • primary biliary cholangitis

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