title: The level of connective tissue growth factor in sera of patients with hepatitis B virus strongly correlates with stage of hepatic fibrosis.
abstract: Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) plays a crucial role in the formation and development of hepatic fibrosis. The aim of this study was to establish a method for CTGF determination in order to investigate the level of CTGF in the sera of patients with hepatitis B virus, and to assess the correlation between CTGF concentration and stage of hepatic fibrosis. A CTGF C-terminal region gene was obtained by RT-PCR of human mesangial kidney cells and inserted into pET-32a((+)) vector. Recombinant protein was obtained by expression and purification of the fused protein. Polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies were prepared to establish a sandwich ELISA method. CTGF levels in 18 healthy serum samples and 83 serum samples from patients with hepatitis B virus were assessed. A simple, sensitive, and noninvasive method of determining CTGF levels was successfully established. CTGF levels in the sera of patients with hepatitis B were significantly increased compared controls (p < 0.001). There was a strong correlation between CTGF concentration and fibrotic stage (r = 0.8906, p < 0.005). No significant association was found between CTGF level and the grade of hepatic inflammation (p > 0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of CTGF was 0.681 for identification of significant fibrosis, and 0.759 for the diagnosis of middle- and late-stage fibrosis. Accuracy of CTGF assessment was independent of age, renal function, liver function, platelet count, or other biochemical markers of liver fibrosis (all p > 0.05). No significant correlation was found between CTGF and several humoral factors associated with liver fibrosis (all p > 0.05). The levels of CTGF in the sera of patients with hepatitis B were strongly associated with the stages of hepatic fibrosis, and CTGF may become a useful diagnostic aid in assessing hepatic fibrosis.
authors.affiliation: Center of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, Nanjing, China. nationball@163.com
authors.forename: Wu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo-Qiu
authors.forename: Liu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nai-Feng
authors.forename: Van
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Xiao-Bo
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Linxian
authors.forename: Zhang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Gou
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lixia
authors.forename: Liu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011817:Rabbits; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C526317:CCN2 protein, human; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor