Abstract

We have measured antibodies to the enterobacterial common antigen (ECA) in sera of 86 patients with various liver diseases. ECA is a component of the cell wall of all enteric bacteria, and ECA antibodies are a specific indication of the presence of enterobacterial components. Patients with alcoholic cirrhosis with or without signs of alcoholic hepatitis had significantly raised anti-ECA titres compared with healthy control subjects. Other groups of patients (alcoholic hepatitis and/or fatty liver, primary biliary cirrhosis, chronic active hepatitis, or liver metastases) did not differ significantly from controls in the height of their anti-ECA titres. The results support the concept that Gram-negative bacterial components may have some role in the pathophysiology of alcoholic cirrhosis.