Elevation of serum beta 2 microglobulin in liver diseases.

beta 2 Microglobulin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in the serum of 160 patients with liver disease and compared to 63 normal controls and 75 asymptomatic HBs-Ag carriers. All the latter subjects had normal values. Elevated serum beta 2 microglobulin levels were found in most of the other categories: acute viral hepatitis (35/45); chronic persistent (8/26) or active (35/41) hepatitis and liver cirrhosis (27/38). beta 2 Microglobulin values were significantly lower in chronic persistent hepatitis than in the three other groups (p less than 0.05). Steroid therapy was followed by reduction of serum beta 2m levels in 11/11 cases of chronic active hepatitis, eight of whom returned to normal value. Although linked to the course of the disease, variations of beta 2 microglobulin were independent of transaminases, bilirubin and gamma globulins. Elevated serum beta 2 microglobulin correlated with demonstration of rheumatoid factor but not with detection of circulating immune complexes, hepatitis B virus markers or autoantibodies. The results suggest that elevation of serum beta w microglobulin is encountered mostly in the active forms of inflammatory liver diseases.