BACKGROUND: No reliable, cost-effective serum test is available for assessment of liver fibrogenesis, the most serious complication of chronic inflammatory liver diseases (CLD). In sera of patients with CLD, we determined the concentration of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), a secreted downstream mediator of the potent fibrogenic cytokine transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 83 patients with CLD (17 with chronic hepatitis, 16 with histologically proven fibrosis, and 50 with cirrhosis) and 74 healthy individuals. Serum CTGF was measured by use of a sandwich immunoassay. RESULTS: The mean concentration of CTGF was highest in the fibrosis group (5.2-fold) and in the chronic viral hepatitis group (4.3-fold) but lower in those patients with fully developed cirrhosis. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of CTGF for fibrosis vs control was 0.955 (95% confidence interval, 0.890-0.987). The CTGF/platelet ratio increased the detection limit for cirrhosis from 84% to 92% and the specificity from 85% to 87.5% (cutoff for CTGF was 364 microg/L, ratio 2.05). CONCLUSION: CTGF in serum is a candidate marker of ongoing fibrogenesis in chronic liver diseases.
BACKGROUND: No reliable, cost-effective serum test is available for assessment of liver fibrogenesis, the most serious complication of chronic inflammatory liver diseases (CLD). In sera of patients with CLD, we determined the concentration of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), a secreted downstream mediator of the potent fibrogenic cytokine transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 83 patients with CLD (17 with chronic hepatitis, 16 with histologically proven fibrosis, and 50 with cirrhosis) and 74 healthy individuals. Serum CTGF was measured by use of a sandwich immunoassay. RESULTS: The mean concentration of CTGF was highest in the fibrosis group (5.2-fold) and in the chronic viral hepatitis group (4.3-fold) but lower in those patients with fully developed cirrhosis. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of CTGF for fibrosis vs control was 0.955 (95% confidence interval, 0.890-0.987). The CTGF/platelet ratio increased the detection limit for cirrhosis from 84% to 92% and the specificity from 85% to 87.5% (cutoff for CTGF was 364 microg/L, ratio 2.05). CONCLUSION:CTGF in serum is a candidate marker of ongoing fibrogenesis in chronic liver diseases.
Authors: Zhenyue Tong; Ruju Chen; Daniel S Alt; Sherri Kemper; Bernard Perbal; David R Brigstock Journal: Hepatology Date: 2009-09 Impact factor: 17.425
Authors: Morten A Karsdal; Tina Manon-Jensen; Federica Genovese; Jacob H Kristensen; Mette J Nielsen; Jannie Marie B Sand; Niels-Ulrik B Hansen; Anne-Christine Bay-Jensen; Cecilie L Bager; Aleksander Krag; Andy Blanchard; Henrik Krarup; Diana J Leeming; Detlef Schuppan Journal: Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol Date: 2015-03-12 Impact factor: 4.052
Authors: Sonali Sonnylal; Xu Shi-Wen; Patricia Leoni; Katherine Naff; Caroline S Van Pelt; Hiroyuki Nakamura; Andrew Leask; David Abraham; George Bou-Gharios; Benoit de Crombrugghe Journal: Arthritis Rheum Date: 2010-05