Increased chymase in livers with autoimmune disease: colocalization with fibrosis.

Chymase, one of the proteases contained in human mast cells, promotes myocardial and renal interstitial fibrosis by converting angiotensin I to II (AII). We previously established a method for measuring chymase in liver tissue and examined the relationship between chymase and fibrosis in chronic hepatitis. In the present study, chymase was determined in liver specimens affected by autoimmune hepatitis (AIH, n=10) or primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC, n=12).