Serum platelet-derived growth factor BB levels: a potential biomarker for the assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B.
OBJECTIVE
Few studies have investigated serum levels of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). The present study aimed to determine whether PDGF-BB could serve as a potential biomarker for the detection of liver fibrosis.


METHODS
From October 2013 to August 2015, 465 patients with CHB were enrolled prospectively in this study. All patients underwent liver biopsy and staging based on the Ishak system. The serum PDGF-BB level was measured quantitatively by ELISA.


RESULTS
The serum PDGF-BB level was negatively correlated with fibrosis stage in all patients (p = 0.003, Spearman's rho=-0.16) and was significantly different between fibrosis stages. The areas under the receiver operating characteristics curves (AUROCs) for serum PDGF-BB level and PGT score (a combination of PDGF-BB, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, and platelet levels) were 0.667 and 0.831, respectively, for patients with significant fibrosis and normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. The AUROCs for aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio (APRI) and fibrosis index based on four factors (FIB-4) were 0.823 and 0.821, respectively. Importantly, a cut-off value of 1.05 and 1.43, respectively, resulted in a sensitivity of 0.95 and 0.52, a specificity of 0.29 and 0.95, a positive predictive value of 0.30 and 0.79, and a negative predictive value of 0.96 and 0.86. The rate of correct diagnosis was up to 88.4% when using cut-offs of 1.05 and 1.43 for the absence or presence of significant fibrosis, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Serum PDGF-BB decreased remarkably as fibrosis progressed, and this could be used as a non-invasive biomarker for the assessment of fibrosis stage in patients with CHB.
Department of Infectious Disease, Center for Liver Disease, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
Jiyuan
J
Zhou
Department of Infectious Disease, Center for Liver Disease, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China; Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Organ Fibrosis Prevention, Xinan Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China.
Yongqiong
Y
Deng
Department of Infectious Disease, Center for Liver Disease, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
Linlin
L
Yan
Department of Infectious Disease, Center for Liver Disease, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China. Electronic address: minmi2001@126.com.
Hong
H
Zhao
Department of Infectious Disease, Center for Liver Disease, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: john131212@126.com.
Guiqiang
G
Wang
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D000077214:Becaplermin; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010976:Platelet Count; D020574:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-sis / Q000097:blood*
D015415:Biomarkers; D020574:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-sis; D000077214:Becaplermin; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase
Chronic hepatitis B; Diagnosis; Liver fibrosis; PDGF-BB