title: Soluble CD146, a novel endothelial marker, is related to the severity of liver disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Angiogenesis and inflammation have been involved in the progression of fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). Soluble CD146 (sCD146), a biomarker that was recently characterized as a novel component of the endothelial junction is implicated in endothelial proliferation. Our study evaluates the performance of sCD146 in assessing liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, and determines if its levels are related to the severity of liver disease in patients with cirrhosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  sCD146 levels were determined by a commercially available immunoenzymatic technique in 62 consecutive patients with cirrhosis, 43 patients with CLD and 27 healthy controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with cirrhosis compared to non-cirrhotics with CLD had a higher median sCD146 concentration (639 vs. 317 ng/ml). In receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the cut-off of 412 ng/ml showed a sensitivity of 78% and a specificity of 75% for diagnosis of cirrhosis, offering good diagnostic accuracy (area under the ROC curve [AUROC: 0.838]). Patients with compensated compared to those with decompensated cirrhosis had a lower median sCD146 concentration (399 vs. 848 ng/ml, respectively). A cut-off of 534 ng/ml offered a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 78% for differentiating compensated from decompensated cirrhosis (AUROC: 0.866). Furthermore, in cirrhotics, sCD146 correlated positively with AST, bilirubin levels and most importantly with international normalized ratio and model for end-stage liver disease (r = 0.648, p < 0.001 and r = 0.567, p < 0.001, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  sCD146 can be used as a surrogate, inexpensive biomarker for the diagnosis of cirrhosis. It is also well correlated with severity of liver disease in cirrhotic patients. Further studies are needed to define its role in clinical practice.
authors: First Regional Transfusion and Haemophilia Centre, Hippokration General Hospital , Athens , Greece.
authors: Efrossini
authors: E
authors: Nomikou
authors: Alexandra
authors: A
authors: Alexopoulou
authors: Larisa
authors: L
authors: Vasilieva
authors: Danai
authors: D
authors: Agiasotelli
authors: Efthimia
authors: E
authors: Pavlou
authors: George
authors: G
authors: Theodossiades
authors: Spyridon P
authors: SP
authors: Dourakis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001706:Biopsy; D051929:CD146 Antigen / Q000097:blood; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D051929:CD146 Antigen; C497902:MCAM protein, human
keywords: angiogenesis; cirrhosis; endothelial marker; model for end-stage liver disease; sCD146