[The relationship between the levels of serum fibrosis marks and morphometric quantitative measurement of hepatic histological fibrosis].
OBJECTIVE
To study the relationship between the levels of serum fibrosis marks hyaluronic acid (HA), procollagen type III (PCIII), collagen type IV (CIV) and the degree of hepatic fibrosis, and the clinical significance of HA, PCIII, CIV in the diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis to the chronic viral hepatitis.


METHODS
The concentrations of serum HA, PCIII, CIV in 151 patients with chronic viral hepatitis were measured by radioimmunoassay. Liver biopsies were performed in all of the patients at the same time. Morphometric quantitative measurements of hepatic fibrosis were performed in 4mum sections stained with masson stain using a fully automated image-analysis system.


RESULTS
The levels of serum HA, PCIII, CIV were all increased steadily with the progression of hepatic fibrosis, and the highest levels were in stage 4. They were all positively correlated with staging of the liver pathology and morphometric measurement of hepatic fibrosis (P<0.001). The coefficient value (r) with staging were 0.694, 0.493, 0.552 (P<0.001), respectively and with morphometric measurement of hepatic fibrosis were 0.715, 0.596, 0.537 (P<0.001), respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The levels of serum HA, PCIII, CIV are in concert with the degree of hepatic fibrosis, and the determination of these marks may be valuable for diagnosing hepatic fibrosis.
Xie
S
S
Department of Infectious Diseases, Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou 510630, China.
Yao
J
J
Zheng
S
S
Yao
C
C
Zheng
R
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers; D002648:Child; D003094:Collagen / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011347:Procollagen / Q000097:blood*
D015415:Biomarkers; D011347:Procollagen; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D003094:Collagen