The SHAP-hyaluronan complex in serum from patients with chronic liver diseases caused by hepatitis virus infection.
Our previous study suggested that the serum-derived hyaluronan associated protein (SHAP)-hyaluronan (HA) complex in the sera of patients with rheumatoid arthritis is useful as a marker that directly correlates with the degree of inflammation. Here, we have investigated the serum levels of the SHAP-HA complex in patients at various clinical stages of chronic hepatitis (CH), liver cirrhosis (LC), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) caused by infection with the hepatitis C or hepatitis B virus. Both serum levels of the SHAP-HA complex and HA in those patients were significantly higher than those of the controls and increased in the order of CH<LC<HCC. Different from the HA levels, there was a significant difference in the SHAP-HA complex levels between the LC and HCC groups in both HBV- and HCV-infected patients. In addition, the serum level of the SHAP-HA complex correlated with the well-known biomarkers for liver injury and function such as albumin and platelet, including the HCC indicator alpha-fetoprotein. In conclusion, the present data suggest that the SHAP-HA complex level is a better indicator for the progression of the stages of liver fibrosis, and that it could be a marker for HCC, in both HBV- and HCV-infected patients.
Shen
Li
L
Institute for Molecular Science of Medicine, Aichi Medical University, Yazako, Nagakute, Aichi 480-1195, Japan; Department of Surgery, Aichi Medical University, Yazako, Nagakute, Aichi 480-1195, Japan.
Zhuo
Lisheng
L
Okumura
Akihiko
A
Ishikawa
Tetsuya
T
Miyachi
Masahiko
M
Owa
Yoshihiro
Y
Ishizawa
Tohko
T
Sugiura
Nobuo
N
Nagata
Yoshihisa
Y
Nonami
Toshiaki
T
Kakumu
Shinichi
S
Kimata
Koji
K