The potential of angiogenesis soluble markers in chronic hepatitis C.
Angiogenesis, the formation of new vessels, has been reported to play a significant pathogenic role in liver damage-associated hepatitis C virus infection. Most of our current knowledge derives from immunohistochemical studies of hepatic biopsy samples obtained from chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. We evaluated whether CHC is associated with elevated serum levels of angiogenesis markers and whether these are modulated by therapy. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), and soluble Tie-2 (sTie-2) were determined in the serum of 36 CHC patients, before and after receiving antiviral combination therapy with pegylated interferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin, and in 15 healthy controls. CHC patients showed elevated baseline VEGF and Ang-2 levels. After treatment, both factors were decreased, whereas antiangiogenic sTie-2 was increased, indicating a shift toward an "anti-angiogenic" profile of serum markers in CHC patients. In conclusion, this suggests that serum VEGF, Ang-2, and sTie-2 levels could be useful as noninvasive, mechanistically based markers of response to therapy and disease progression in CHC.
Salcedo
Xamila
X
Liver and Molecular Biology Units, Hospital Universitario de la Princesa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.
Medina
Jesús
J
Sanz-Cameno
Paloma
P
García-Buey
Luisa
L
Martín-Vilchez
Samuel
S
Borque
María J
MJ
López-Cabrera
Manuel
M
Moreno-Otero
Ricardo
R
D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D042702:Angiopoietin-2 / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008102:Liver Circulation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood
D042702:Angiopoietin-2; D015415:Biomarkers; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D000410:Alanine Transaminase