title: Serum soluble CD40 is associated with liver injury in patients with chronic hepatitis B.
abstract: Soluble cluster of differentiation 40 (sCD40) is proteolytically cleaved from membrane-bound CD40 and binds to CD154, thereby inhibiting CD40-CD154-mediated immune responses. The aim of the present study was to clarify the role of sCD40 in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). The sCD40 levels in sera from 132 patients with CHB and 33 healthy individuals were retrospectively measured. sCD40 concentrations in patients with CHB were higher than those in healthy controls, and sCD40 levels correlated positively with serum levels of the liver dysfunction biomarkers alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST). sCD40 concentrations increased with a rise in the severity of liver necroinflammation and fibrosis. Patients with >75% liver tissue staining positive for hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigen expression showed significantly lower sCD40 levels than those who stained negative for the HBV antigen. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of sCD40 was greater than that of ALT and AST; thus, sCD40 levels have a high diagnostic accuracy for detecting severe liver inflammation in patients with CHB, and could serve as an immunological marker of hepatic tissue injury.
authors: Institute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing 302 Hospital, Beijing 100039, P.R. China.
authors: Hong-Hui
authors: HH
authors: Shen
authors: Institute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing 302 Hospital, Beijing 100039, P.R. China.
authors: Bing-Ke
authors: BK
authors: Bai
authors: Department of Gastroenterology, Beijing 305 Hospital, Beijing 100017, P.R. China.
authors: Ya-Qing
authors: YQ
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Pathology, Beijing 302 Hospital, Beijing 100039, P.R. China.
authors: Guang-DE
authors: G
authors: Zhou
authors: Institute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing 302 Hospital, Beijing 100039, P.R. China.
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Hou
authors: Institute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing 302 Hospital, Beijing 100039, P.R. China.
authors: Yan
authors: Y
authors: Hu
authors: Department of Pathology, Beijing 302 Hospital, Beijing 100039, P.R. China.
authors: Jing-Min
authors: JM
authors: Zhao
authors: Institute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing 302 Hospital, Beijing 100039, P.R. China.
authors: Bao-Sen
authors: BS
authors: Li
authors: Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of PLA, Beijing 100853, P.R. China.
authors: Hai-Li
authors: HL
authors: Huang
authors: Institute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing 302 Hospital, Beijing 100039, P.R. China.
authors: Pan-Yong
authors: PY
authors: Mao
keywords: fibrosis; hepatocyte; immune; necroinflammatory