Clinical implications of measurement of serum nuclear matrix protein levels in patients with liver disease.
OBJECTIVE
Serum aminotransferase, a sensitive marker of hepatocellular damage, often poorly correlates with the severity of damage. Serum nuclear matrix protein (NMP), a structural protein released from dead cell nuclei, is investigated as a candidate marker of organ damage in liver disease.


METHODS
Serum NMP and aminotransferase levels of 134 patients with various liver diseases and 26 healthy individuals were examined.


RESULTS
Patients with chronic viral hepatitis showed slightly higher NMP levels (17.8 U/mL; 95% CI 15.0-20.5 U/mL) than those of healthy individuals (6.05 U/mL; 95% CI 4.82-7.27 U/mL). Their NMP values had no correlation with aminotransferase levels. NMP levels were similar irrespective of liver disease progression, whereas aminotransferase values decreased in parallel with progression. Patients with autoimmune hepatitis or primary biliary cirrhosis who were under an appropriate treatment as well as individuals with fatty liver showed no elevation of serum NMP levels. Patients with acute viral hepatitis showed very high NMP levels (38.8 U/mL; 95%CI 27.6-50.0 U/mL) that correlated with serum aminotransferase levels in their sera.


CONCLUSIONS
In chronic liver diseases, the serum NMP level elevates to various degrees independent from the degree of aminotransferase elevation. Serum NMP, putatively representing the number of dead cells, is a candidate as an indicator of organ damage severity in liver disease.
Shimizu
Yuko
Y
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
Nakano
Isao
I
Katano
Yoshiaki
Y
Shimizu
Hideyuki
H
Fukuda
Yoshihide
Y
D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D018450:Disease Progression; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D034521:Nuclear Matrix-Associated Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D015996:Survival Rate
D015415:Biomarkers; D034521:Nuclear Matrix-Associated Proteins