Biliary excretion of procollagen type III peptide in healthy humans and in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver.
Serum concentrations of procollagen type III peptide are found to be elevated in liver disease and to correlate with fibrosis activity in liver tissue. These elevated serum levels may be due to enhanced synthesis, decreased excretion, or release from deposits of the propeptide in connective tissue. To quantitatively investigate the excretion of procollagen type III peptide, we studied its presence in the bile and urine of 10 healthy controls and 11 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. Biliary excretion rates of procollagen propeptide were determined by the duodenal perfusion method. The serum concentrations of procollagen type III peptide were 2.5 +/- 0.5 ng/ml in the healthy controls and 33.6 +/- 6.8 ng/ml in the patients with cirrhosis. Procollagen type III peptide was found in the bile; the healthy controls excreted 0.4 +/- 0.07 nmol/h and the cirrhotics excreted 0.98 +/- 0.27 nmol/h. A fragment of the procollagen propeptide, Col 1, was excreted in urine; the healthy controls excreted 0.25 +/- 0.04 nmol/h, and the cirrhotics excreted 0.11 +/- 0.03 nmol/h. These data demonstrate that the biliary excretion of procollagen type III peptide represents a quantitatively important pathway.
D001646:Bile / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008104:Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic / Q000378:metabolism*; D011347:Procollagen / Q000032:analysis* / Q000652:urine; D011863:Radioimmunoassay
D011347:Procollagen