More Than a Classificatory and Diagnostic Marking, a Prognostic Importance of Antibodies in Autoimmune Liver Diseases

Most often chronic, autoimmune liver and biliary diseases are rare. Although the etiology is still unclear, several factors including infection, environment, and genetics seem to be involved in the development of those damage. Autoimmune hepatitis AIH is liver inflammation characterized by the presence of antibodies, polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia, and periportal infiltration are not due to another viral, medicated, or toxic cause. Primary biliary cholangitis PBC previously called primary biliary cirrhosis is a chronic disease in which the bile ducts are infiltrated by lymphocytes, obstructed then slowly destroyed. Primary sclerosing cholangitis PSB is a chronic cholestatic liver disease characterized by progressive inflammation and fibrosis of the intra-hepatic and extra-hepatic bile ducts. Antibodies are of great help in those diseases. They are more than classificatory and diagnostic markers. Their prognostic contribution predicts severity, allows for monitoring of the therapeutic evolution, and watches for recurrence and complications.