Controlled study of autoimmunization against liver in inbred rat strains

Cell-mediated immunity to liver antigen in toxic liver injury. II. Role in pathogenesis of liver damage

The possible pathogenetic role of lymphocytes sensitized to liver antigens was investigated in CBA mice in which sublethal hepatic necrosis had been induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Sensitized lymphocytes from CCl4-treated mice were administered to syngeneic recipients. The recipients developed sensitivity to liver antigens but showed no evidence of liver damage. The cell mediating the immune response both in the donor and the recipient was a T cell. This was demonstrated further by studies involving mice rendered T cell deficient. These mice did not develop sensitized lymphocytes when they were treated with CCl4 but the extent of liver damage was similar in both T cell-depleted and intact animals. These findings suggest that T cell sensitization to liver antigens occurs as a result of toxic liver damage and does not play a role in the pathogenesis of the hepatic necrosis.

Immunological abnormalities associated with liver disease: cause or effect?

Immunological abnormalities are demonstrable in patients with various types of liver damage. These may be (a) non-specific and unrelated to pathogenesis, e.g. auto-antibodies such as anti-nuclear factor; (b) specifically directed against liver antigens but not pathogenetic, e.g. cell mediated immune (CMI) reactions to liver antigen as seen in experimental carbon tetrachloride poisoning; (c) of such a nature as to modify the pathology produced by hepatotoxic agents, e.g. hepatitis B virus or alcohol; (d) primarily responsible for hepatic pathology, e.g. in idiopathic chronic active hepatitis. The latter two possibilities remain unproven although there is growing evidence that immune responses do play some role in the pathogenesis of acute and chronic hepatitis B and possibly also in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease. It seems much less likely that primary abnormalities of the immune systems are responsible for any type of liver disease. In summary, therefore, the available evidence suggests that immune reactions could develop as a consequence of liver damage and only in certain circumstances do these reactions play a role in the development and continuation of hepatic pathology.