[Procollagen III and laminin in chronic viral hepatopathies].
OBJECTIVE
We measured serum concentrations of the N-terminal peptide of type III procollagen (PIIIP) and laminin (Lam-P1) in patients with chronic viral liver disease in the various stages of the clinical course, to judge their value in assessing liver fibrogenesis, and also compared them with a number of liver function tests and histological scores of inflammation and fibrosis.


METHODS
Twenty-nine patients with chronic persistent hepatitis, 39 with chronic active hepatitis and 42 with liver cirrhosis were studied. The control group was composed of 45 healthy blood donors. Serum PIIIP and Lamp-P1 were determined by radioimmunoassay; hepatic function was measured by routine assay; liver fibrosis and inflammation were graded on a 0-3 score scale.


RESULTS
A significantly higher increase in serum levels of PIIIP and Lam-P1 was found in the liver cirrhosis group compared with the other groups (p < 0.05). Serum PIIIP correlated with transaminase levels in the chronic active hepatitis group and with gammaglobulin and total bilirubin in the liver cirrhosis group. A positive correlation was found only with gammaglobulin and total bilirubin in the cirrhosis group. A positive correlation was found between serum PIIIP levels and the rating scale of liver necrosis. In contrast, for Lam-P1 values, a correlation with the rating scale of necrosis and fibrosis was found.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings confirmed the increase of PIIIP and Lamp-P1 in chronic viral liver disease, but because of the frequent overlap values, they cannot be used as substitutes for liver biopsy for diagnosis. The correlations with the histological findings indicate that these two markers can be used during the follow-up of patients receiving anti-inflammatory or anti-fibrotic treatment.
Montalto
G
G
Istituto di Medicina Interna e Geriatria, Università di Palermo, Italia.
Soresi
M
M
Aragona
F
F
Tripi
S
S
Carroccio
A
A
Anastasi
G
G
Magliarisi
C
C
Barresi
E
E
Notarbartolo
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007797:Laminin / Q000097:blood*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood*; D011347:Procollagen / Q000097:blood*
D015415:Biomarkers; D007797:Laminin; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011347:Procollagen; C041876:procollagen Type III-N-terminal peptide
Procollagène III et laminine dans les hépatopathies chroniques d'origine virale.