Introduction: Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic, cholestatic liver disease that is characterized by an inflammatory and fibrotic process affecting bile ducts which eventually develops into liver cirrhosis and liver failure. The aim of this study was to investigate serum IgG subclass distribution in patients with PSC and its possible association with PSC outcomes.
Patients and methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 181 patients who had been diagnosed with PSC between January 1970 and December 2015 and followed at our outpatient clinic. Their demographic, immunological, and clinical characteristics were recorded and analyzed.
Results: This study included 181 patients with PSC (120 males, 61 females). There was no association between IgGs and the development of autoimmune hepatitis, cirrhosis, cholangiocarcinoma, liver transplantation, inflammatory bowel disease, and colectomy. Patients with elevated IgG4 had statistically significant higher rates of cholangitis (p = 0.02) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) (p = 0.009). High IgG4 values were observed in nine patients who underwent ERCP. In these nine patients, on average, IgG4 was evaluated 5 years after ERCP (min 3 days, max 11 years). Subanalysis considering only IgG4 values evaluated before ERCP showed no significant difference but remains significant if we consider IgG4 values after ERCP.
Conclusion: Elevated IgG4 in our study showed a possible association with higher rates of cholangitis and ERCP among patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. It seems that IgGs may be a useful tool for the prediction of outcomes in patients with PSC. A prospective study is necessary, especially to study the trends of IgGs values during disease as well as the role of possible seroconversion.
Keywords: IgG; cholangitis; immunoglobulin; primary; sclerosing; subclasses.