[Diagnostic significance of antibodies against cell organelles (mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomes)].

Sera from 5154 subjects comprising patients with liver diseases (n = 1311), immunological and connective tissue disorders (n = 1098) and other diseases (n = 2421), and healthy people (n = 324), were investigated by immunofluorescence for IgG antibodies (titre greater than or equal to 1:20) against mitochondria (AMA), endoplasmic reticulum (AER), nonorganspecific ribosomes (ARA-1), and liver typical ribosomes (ARA-2). AMA were classified in 10 subtypes. AMA (n = 163 = total 3.2%) were found predominantly in liver diseases (n = 101 = 7.7%) and in autoimmunopathies (n = 34 = 3.1%). AER (n = 59 = total 1.1%) were detected mainly in liver diseases (n = 40 = 3%), ARA-1 (n = 14 = total 3%) in autoimmunopathies (n = 7 = 0.64%), and ARA-2 (n = 7 = total 0.14%) exclusively in liver diseases (n = 7 = 0.5%) (acute and chronic relapsing hepatitis with viral markers). The diagnostic value of antibodies depends among other things on the titre and the subtype. AMA of type 2 and 4 with a titre higher than 1:1280 are a valuable marker of primary biliary cirrhosis or a related disease, even in the absence of other diagnostic signs. AER with a titre higher than 1:320 suggest a special form of autoimmune chronic hepatitis with rapid progress to liver cirrhosis. The diagnostic value of other antimitochondrial antibodies (especially those of type 5 to 10) and of antiribosomal antibodies is not exactly known.