[The relationship of expression of BMP-7 in the liver and hepatic inflammation and fibrosis in patients with chronic HBV infection].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the relationship of the expression of bone morphogenefic protein-7 (BMP-7) in the liver and the liver fibrosis and inflammation in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, to explore the role of BMP-7 in the fibrogenesis of chronic hepatitis B.


METHODS
81 patients chronically infected with HBV were enrolled. Liver biopsy were performed in all these patients. The hematoxylin staining and reticular fiber staining were performed for the grading of inflammation and staging of fibrosis, respectively. The patients were divided into different groups by the inflammatory grade or fibrosis stage (8, 14, 19, 22, 18 patients with inflammatory grade of G0, G1, G2, G3, G4, respectively; 8, 16, 21, 24, 12 patients with fibrosis stage of S0, S1, S2, S3, S4, respectively ). Then the immunohistochemical staining by BMP-7 were performed. The expression of BMP-7 in the liver was evaluated by digital image quantitative analysis system. We compared the expression of BMP-7 in the liver with different inflammatory grade and fibrosis stage.


RESULTS
The expression of BMP-7 in the liver tissue increased with the increase of hepatic inflammatory grade and fibrosis. When liver biopsy showed a severe intrahepatic inflammation, the expression of BMP-7 significantly increased, regardless the intrahepatic fibrosis stage. Similarly, when liver biopsy showed a severe intrahepatic fibrosis, the expression of BMP-7 also significantly increased, regardless the intrahepatic inflammatory grade.


CONCLUSIONS
BMP-7 may play an important role as anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrogenic effect in the fibrogenesis of chronic hepatitis B.
Department of Infectious Diseases, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Hong
H
Cao
Xin
X
Shu
Lu-Biao
LB
Chen
Ka
K
Zhang
Qi-huan
QH
Xu
Gang
G
Li
D055419:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 7 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D055419:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 7