Shiokawa M, et al. - In patients with autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP), researchers identified an autoantibody against laminin 511-E8, a truncated laminin 511, one of the extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. According to the findings obtained, AIP subjects with laminin 511-E8 antibodies showed distinctive clinical features, as the frequencies of malignancies or allergic diseases were significantly lower in patients with laminin 511-E8 antibodies vs those without. The study findings suggested that the discovery of these autoantibodies should help in the understanding of AIP pathophysiology and possibly improve the diagnosis of AIP.