Gastroesophageal varices in primary biliary cholangitis with anti-centromere antibody positivity: Early onset?

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is an autoimmune liver disease. During the diagnostic process, the patient’s autoimmune antibodies are routinely examined. Approximately 20% of PBC patients have positive anti-centromere antibody (ACA). We evaluated the clinical characteristics of ACA-positive and ACA-negative PBC patients to explain the differences in disease progression between these two groups. Retrospective data from 961 PBC patients at Beijing Youan Hospital from 2010 to 2019 were gathered and separated into two groups based on ACA positivity. We collected and evaluated clinical laboratory indices, gastroscopy findings, and liver function assessments. In addition, 60 liver biopsies were available for comparison between the 2 groups. Pathologists staged the histological findings using the Ludwig staging criteria and Nakanuma staging and grading. Immunohistochemical staining was also performed on liver biopsies to examine the expression of cytokeratin 7 (CK7) in the tissue. A synthesis of clinical indicators in the large cohort showed that alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, IgG, white blood cell, and platelet were significantly lower in the ACA-positive group, indicating that the overall status of liver injury was more moderate in the ACA-positive group. Additionally, ACA-positive patients in the non-cirrhotic group were more likely to present with gastroesophageal varices related to portal hypertension. Finally, analysis of pathologic findings showed that parameters were mostly comparable in the two groups, but CK7 differed and was more significantly lower in the ACA-positive group in albumin–bilirubin grade 2 and 3 patients. In summary, we characterized and compared the clinical features of ACA-positive and ACA-negative PBC patients, corroborating previous studies on the relationship between ACA positivity and portal hypertension cross-sectionally. It suggested that gastroesophageal varices might happen in the earlier course of PBC natural progression in the ACA-positive group.