title: Correlation of biological serum markers with the degree of hepatic fibrosis and necroinflammatory activity in hepatitis C and schistosomiasis patients.
abstract: Liver biopsy is the gold-standard method to stage fibrosis; however, it is an invasive procedure and is potentially dangerous. The main objective of this study was to evaluate biological markers, such as cytokines IL-13, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha and TGF-beta, platelets, bilirubins (Bil), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total proteins, gamma-glutamil transferase (gamma-GT) and alkaline phosphatase (AP), that could be used to predict the severity of hepatic fibrosis in schistosomiasis and hepatitis C (HC) as isolated diseases or co-infections. The following patient groups were selected: HC (n = 39), HC/hepatosplenic schistosomiasis (HSS) (n = 19), HSS (n = 22) and a control group (n = 13). ANOVA and ROC curves were used for statistical analysis. P < 0.05 was considered significant. With HC patients we showed that TNF-alpha (p = 0.020) and AP (p = 0.005) could differentiate mild and severe fibrosis. With regard to necroinflammatory activity, AST (p = 0.002), gamma-GT (p = 0.034) and AP (p = 0.001) were the best markers to differentiate mild and severe activity. In HC + HSS patients, total Bil (p = 0.008) was capable of differentiating between mild and severe fibrosis. In conclusion, our study was able to suggest biological markers that are non-invasive candidates to evaluate fibrosis and necroinflammatory activity in HC and HC + HSS.
authors: Departamento de Imunologia, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães, Fiocruz, Recife, PE, Brasil. clarice@cpqam.fiocruz.br
authors: Clarice Neuenschwander Lins de
authors: CN
authors: Morais
authors: Bruno de Melo
authors: Bde M
authors: Carvalho
authors: Wlademir Gomes de
authors: WG
authors: Melo
authors: Fábio Lopes de
authors: FL
authors: Melo
authors: Edmundo Pessoa de Almeida
authors: EP
authors: Lopes
authors: Ana Lúcia Coutinho
authors: AL
authors: Domingues
authors: Norma
authors: N
authors: Jucá
authors: João Roberto Maciel
authors: JR
authors: Martins
authors: George Tadeu Nunes
authors: GT
authors: Diniz
authors: Silvia Maria Lucena
authors: SM
authors: Montenegro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D008109:Liver Diseases, Parasitic / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009336:Necrosis / Q000473:pathology; D012372:ROC Curve; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013158:Splenic Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers