title: Hepatic expression and serum levels of syndecan 1 (CD138) in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Syndecan-1 (CD138) is a transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan expressed in the liver which may exert metabolic effects by mediating the hepatic clearance of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. In the present study, we assayed serum levels and the hepatic expression of syndecan-1 and examined their association with clinical, biochemical, and histologic phenotypes in patients with histology-proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 59 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD and 54 matched controls were enrolled. The analysis of syndecan-1 expression in liver biopsies was performed by immunohistochemistry on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples. Serum syndecan-1 levels were measured by ELISA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  NAFLD patients had significantly higher serum syndecan-1 levels [median: 61 ng/mL (interquartile range: 36-97 ng/mL)] than controls [median: 37 ng/mL (interquartile range: 25-59 ng/mL, Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.001]. However, we did not find any significant association between serum syndecan-1 and the mean syndecan-1 immunohistochemical score (n = 59, r = 0.064, p = 0.63). Interestingly, the syndecan-1 immunohistochemical score was an independent predictor of HDL cholesterol in NAFLD patients (β = 0.27; t = 1.99, p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that serum syndecan-1 levels are raised in patients with NAFLD. Moreover, the syndecan-1 immunohistochemical score in the liver is independently associated with HDL cholesterol in this group of patients. These pilot results support further investigation of this molecule in metabolic liver diseases.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Gastroenterology, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey. dryusufyilmaz@gmail.com
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Eren
authors.forename: Yasar
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Colak
authors.forename: Ebubekir
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Senates
authors.forename: Cigdem Ataizi
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Celikel
authors.forename: Nese
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Imeryuz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D053668:Syndecan-1 / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D053668:Syndecan-1