title: Nephromegaly and elevated hepatocyte growth factor in children with biliary atresia.
abstract: Nephromegaly, a rarely mentioned but probably common situation, was studied in children with biliary atresia. We evaluated the length and the cross-sectional diameters of the kidney by ultrasound in 21 children with biliary atresia as well as in 50 healthy children. The ages ranged from 1 month to 10 years. Plasma hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) was measured in 18 children with biliary atresia and also in 18 age- and sex-matched normal controls. There was a significant nephromegaly (increase in the renal length and the kidney volume) in children with biliary atresia as compared with normal children (P < 0.001 by analysis of covariance). Plasma HGF levels were elevated in these patients (2.13 +/- 1.06 v 0.76 +/- 0.19 ng/mL in controls, P < 0.001) and had a positive correlation with the renal size after considering the effect of body height by multiple regression analysis (P = 0.0022 for renal length, and P < 0.001 for kidney volume). These results confirm the presence of large kidneys in biliary atresia and implicate the possible pathogenic role of HGF in such a condition. Nephromegaly in biliary atresia may provide a new in vivo model to study the mechanism of renal growth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Y K
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Tsau
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: P I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D001656:Biliary Atresia / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D001827:Body Height; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007668:Kidney / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor