Autoantibodies to muscarinic acetylcholine receptors found in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis

Background Autoantibodies to the human muscarinic acetylcholine receptor of the M3 type (hmAchR M3) have been suggested to play an etiopathogenic role in Sjogren's syndrome. Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) often is associated with this syndrome. Therefore, we studied the co-presence of hmAchR M3 autoantibodies in patients with PBC.