title: Serum N-glycomic markers in combination with panels improves the diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present study aimed to evaluate the changes in the serum N-glycome profiles in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and to assess the role of N-glycome-derived markers in the noninvasive diagnosis of liver fibrosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  After liver biopsy for pathological grading and staging, 128 CHB patients underwent serum N-glycomic analysis using DNA sequencer-assisted fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (DSA-FACE) and sensitive markers were screened.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Peaks 1, 2, 8 and 10 in the N-glycome profiles could, to some extents, distinguish liver fibrosis at different stages. In addition, the N-glycome-derived marker log(peak2/peak8) possessed the highest diagnostic accuracy. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROCs) curves of the log(peak2/peak8) were 0.675, 0.736 and 0.754 in the diagnosis of significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and early cirrhosis, respectively. In combination with some marker panels (SLFG, S index, Fibrometer, Hui, Forns, APRI and Hepascore), it showed the best diagnostic potency in distinguishing significant fibrosis (SLFG + log[peak2/peak8], AUROC = 0.813) from advanced fibrosis (SLFG + log[peak2/peak8], AUROC = 0.899) and a better diagnostic potency in the identification of early cirrhosis (S index + log[peak2/peak8], AUROC = 0.903, lower than Hui model [AUROC = 0.927]) in the validation cohort.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  N-glycomic changes are present in the serum of CHB patients with liver fibrosis, and N-glycan profiling is a noninvasive and effective tool to assess the liver fibrosis, especially in combination with serum marker panels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai First People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Chun-Fang
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yun-Peng
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Ming-Yi
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Lun-Gen
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019540:Area Under Curve; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D054794:Glycomics; D018963:Hepatitis Antigens / Q000097:blood; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000097:blood*; D012372:ROC Curve
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001798:Blood Proteins; D018963:Hepatitis Antigens; D011134:Polysaccharides