Patients
PBC
Patients aged 18 to 75 years diagnosed with PBC [≥2 of the following criteria: history of ALP > ULN for ≥6 months, positive antimitochondrial antibody titers (>1/40 on immunofluorescence or M2-positive by ELISA) or PBC-specific antinuclear antibodies, or documented liver biopsy histology consistent with PBC] were screened for eligibility. Patients with ALP ≥1.67×ULN and total bilirubin ≤2×ULN were eligible.