Serum hyaluronic acid and laminin as biomarkers in liver fibrosis.
OBJECTIVE
Non-invasive methods have been proposed as surrogate markers for liver biopsy. It was shown that serum hyaluronic acid (HA) and laminin (LN) levels increase with the development of liver fibrosis. The aim of this study was to determine serum HA and LN levels cut-off points for predicting liver fibrosis, highlighting their diagnostic value and their changes during treatment.


METHODS
Serum HA and LN levels in chronic hepatitis patients (n=62) and controls (n=20) were assessed by ELISA and liver histopathological parameters were evaluated by the modified Knodell score.


RESULTS
Mean serum HA (113.4 +/- 59.2 ng/ml) and LN (91.9 +/- 20.9 ng/ml) concentrations in patients were greater than in controls (46.6 +/- 10.5 and 46.1 +/- 10.1 ng/ml, p < 0.001). A strong correlation between serum HA and LN concentrations with hepatic necroinflammatory lesions was found (p < 0.001). A cut-off point of 59.5 ng/ml HA and 52.0 ng/ml LN for the discrimination of patients with liver fibrosis from healthy controls and 102.0 ng/ml HA and 92.5 ng/ml LN for the discrimination of patients with mild from severe fibrosis showed acceptable AUC, sensitivity and specificity. After six months of treatment, a gradual decrease in serum HA and LN levels was observed, however the levels were still higher than those of the controls (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Serum hyaluronic acid and laminin concentrations increase in liver fibrosis and could be used as a noninvasive biomarker to discriminate between patients with liver fibrosis and healthy individuals.
Parsian
Hadi
H
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. hadiparsian@yahoo.com
Rahimipour
Ali
A
Nouri
Mohammad
M
Somi
Mohammad Hossein
MH
Qujeq
Durdi
D
Fard
Mehrdad Kashi
MK
Agcheli
Karim
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001706:Biopsy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D019693:Hepatitis, Autoimmune / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D007492:Iran; D007797:Laminin / Q000097:blood*; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015854:Up-Regulation; D055815:Young Adult
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D007797:Laminin; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid