[Occurrence of autoantibodies in patients with alcoholic liver disease]. / Wystepowanie autoprzeciwcial wsród chorych z alkoholowym uszkodzeniem watroby.

UNLABELLED: Autoantigens are present in normal cells and tissues. However, in physiological conditions autoantigens pose no danger due to the phenomenon of immunologic tolerance. The loss of immunologic tolerance and following autoagression could result from the structure changes of autoantigens as an effect of the activity of chemical factors, such as acetaldehyde, which is metabolite of ethanol. The aim of the study was to evaluate of occurrence of autoantibodies in patients with alcoholic liver disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ninety-five patients with chronic alcoholic liver disease and 16 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The presence of autoantibodies against liver proteins were assessed. The occurrence of studied autoantibodies was evaluated with regard to the degree of liver damage. Inclusion criteria were: age over 21 yrs, at least 3-yrs history of alcoholic liver disease, HBV and HCV-negativity, absence of autoimmunological diseases. The presence of autoantibodies AMA-M2, SLA/LP, LKM-1, LC1, anti-F-actin, desmin and miozin in serum was assessed by immunoblotting method and ANA by ELISA. RESULTS: Autoantibodies were demonstrated in sera of 33% of patients. Single isolated autoantibodies were present in 24% of patients, whereas 9% of patients have several autoantibodies. The most prevalent were anti-F-actin (19%) and antinuclear antibodies (11%). Occurrence of anti-F-actin antibodies increased with degree of liver damage. CONCLUSIONS: Concluding these results suggest that alcohol may contribute to the activation of autoimmune processes, and particularly against contractile filaments of cells for which F-actin antibodies are produced.

[Activity of N-acetyl-ß-hexosaminidase and its isoenzymes A and B in cancer]. / Aktywnosc N-acetylo-ß-D-heksozoaminidazy i jej izoenzymów A i B w nowotworach.

There were approximately 93,060 deaths from cancers in Poland in 2008, and about 105,000 are predicted for the year 2025. Early detection of cancer is a major problem throughout the world, which is why many researchers are still looking for specific and sensitive markers of malignant tumors. Our work is a review of recent publications on activity of N-acetyl-ß-D-hexosaminidase (HEX) and its isoenzymes A (HEX A) and B (HEX B) as potential markers of malignant tumors. HEX is the most active of the lysosomal exoglycosidases, taking part in degradation of glycoconjugates (glycoproteins, glycolipids, proteoglycans). HEX cleaves N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine from non-reducing ends of oligosaccharide chains of glycoproteins, glycolipids and glycosaminoglycans. The activity of HEX, and its isoenzymes A (HEX A) and B (HEX B), was determined by spectrophotometric and isoelectric focusing methods. There was a statistically significant increase in activity of HEX in tumors of the kidney, pancreas, thyroid, colon, ovary, brain, salivary gland, stomach and larynx, which suggests potential applicability of HEX and its isoenzymes in cancer diagnosis.

[Cytokeratin 18 as an indicator of the activity of liver disease]. / Cytokeratyna 18 jako wskaznik aktywnosci chorób watroby.

Hepatocyte apoptosis plays an important role in a wide range of chronic liver diseases such as: hepatitis C and B, as well as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Apoptosis is responsible for removal of damaged and degenerated cells, but also stimulates liver fibrosis, which can lead to cirrhosis. Aminotransferases activity currently used for routine diagnostics and management of liver disease may yield a significant number of false negative values. On the other hand liver biopsy recognized as a gold standard for evaluation hepatic diseases activity--is an invasive technique associated with potential complications and patients' sufferings. The novel biomarker helpful in identifying and monitoring activity of liver disease may be cytokeratin 18. Its fragment levels correlate with the magnitude of hepatocyte apoptosis and independently predict the presence of liver fibrosis and inflammation. This review will focus on potential use of cytokeratin 18 measurement in the diagnosis and management of chronic liver disorders.