The occurrence and properties of a serum hepatic antigen in various liver diseases.

A liver antigen, LA-1, was detected by immunoelectrophoresis in the sera of 79 percent of patients with viral hepatitis A, 77 percent of patients with viral hepatitis B, and 62 percent of patients with alcoholic hepatitis. The occurrence of LA-1 was lower in liver cirrhosis (28 percent) and primary extra-hepatic disorders (18 percent) and absent in the sera of healthy subjects. Liver antigen, LA-1, is detectable in human kidney, lung, spleen, heart and skeletal muscle, and rhesus monkey liver; however, it is not found in the livers from dog, rat, cat, or pig. This antigen is characterized as a protein with beta-globulin electrophoretic mobility and a molecular weight in the range 67,000 to 80,000, which distinguishes it from liver ferritin and previously defined bile antigens and liver-specific antigens detected in sera from patients with liver diseases. The presence of LA-1 in serum appears to denote non-specific liver injury.