Fine specificity of autoantibodies to soluble liver antigen and liver/pancreas

Autoantibodies to soluble liver antigen and liver pancreas (SLA/LP) have been described as specific markers for Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH), occurring in about 20% of patients with AIH. The high degree of specificity for SLA/LP in autoimmune liver disease suggests a possible role in its pathogenesis. This study aims to map the exact epitope(s) recognized by SLA/LP autoantibodies and to assess the role of molecular mimicry between microbial antigens and self-epitopes. Using SLA/LP-reactive sera of 18 individual AIH patients and a pool of 15 patient sera, we found the dominant immune reactivity directed to peptide p395-414 and a less prominent immune response to 2 other epitopes adjacent to th…