Auto-antibodies to the asialoglycoprotein receptor in sera of children with auto-immune hepatitis

Most studies on the prevalence of asialoglycoprotein antibodies have involved adults. In this study the prevalence of antibodies to the human asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGP-R) was determined in 63 children with auto-immune hepatitis. It was shown that 75% of those with auto-immune hepatitis type 1 and 40% of those with autoimmune hepatitis type 2 were positive and the presence of anti-ASGP-R auto-antibodies, at a mean titre of 1:1,600 and 1:1.000 respectively. No statistical significance was found between anti-ASGP-R positive and negative patients with respect to the median age at onset, proportion of females and ALT levels. However, the titre of anti-ASGP-R antibodies correlated significantly with hypergammaglobulinaemia. Conclusion Anti-asialoglycoprotein receptor antibodies are frequently present in the sera of children with auto-immune hepatitis, particularly type 1. The presence of these antibodies is an indirect marker of inflammatory activity.