Diagnostic relevance of anti-filamentous actin antibodies in autoimmune hepatitis: Figure 1

We read with interest the paper by Granito et al 1 reporting on the clinical and diagnostic significance of anti-filamentous actin antibodies (A-FAA) in autoimmune hepatitis type 1 (AIH-1). The authors found that A-FAA, measured by a new commercially available ELISA based on a modified cut-off of 30 instead of the manufacturer’s 20 arbitary units (AU), strictly correlates with the smooth muscle antibody glomerular/tubular (SMA-G/T) pattern,2 also known as the microfilament pattern, mostly seen in patients with AIH-1.1 Their findings further indicate F-actin as the predominant, if not the sole, target of AIH-1-specific SMA reactivity, a notion that has been questioned in the past because of the inconsistent results obtained by several actin-based assays.3,4 We agree with Granito et al 1 …