Antimitochondrial Antibodies and Other Antibodies in Primary Billary Cirrhosis: Diagnostic and Prognostic Value

Antimitochondrial antibodies (AMA) are the serologic cornerstone in the diagnosis of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), even if they are not detectable in a proportion of patients, notwithstanding the most sensitive and sophisticated technologies used. To fill in the serologic gap in AMA-negative PBC, there is sound evidence to consider antinuclear antibody (ANA) patterns, such as antimultiple nuclear dots and anti-membranous/rim-like, as PBC-specific Surrogate hallmarks of the disease, and their detection can be considered virtually diagnostic. Furthermore, particular ANA specificities, such is anti-gp210, anti-p62, anticentromere antibodies, and anti-dsDNA, may provide additional diagnostic and prognostic information.