title: The SHAP-hyaluronan complex in serum from patients with chronic liver diseases caused by hepatitis virus infection.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Lisheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhuo
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okumura
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miyachi
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Owa
authors.forename: Tohko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishizawa
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sugiura
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nagata
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nonami
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kakumu
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimata