Background/aims: To study the expression and clinical significance of serum soluble major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A/B (sMICA/B), and its correlation with percentage of CD4(+), CD8(+), and NK cells, Liver fibrosis screening test, and liver enzymes in alcoholic liver disease (ALD).
Methods: Hainan Li ALD patients (n = 141) and healthy Li subjects (n = 100) were enrolled for the study. Liver enzymes were measured using automatic biochemical analyzer and Liver fibrosis screening test was used to study the correlation. In addition, sMICA/B expression in serum and percentage of CD4(+), CD8(+), and NK cells were determined using ELISA and flow cytometry respectively.
Results: Liver fibrosis screening test results and liver enzymes concentration were significantly higher (both P < 0.01), whereas the expression of sMICA and sMICB was significantly indifferent (P > 0.01) between ALD patients and healthy controls. However, percentage of CD4(+), CD8(+), and NK cells were statistically lower in ALD patients than in healthy controls. The Kendall's tau-b correlation coefficient for sMICA and sMICB/sMICA and LV was 0.561 and 0.120 respectively (P < 0.01). Pearson correlation coefficient of sMICA with the percentage of CD4(+), CD8(+)%, and NK cells was -0.587, -0.525, and -0.232 respectively, whereas the coefficient of sMICB was -0.590, -0.554, and -0.292 respectively (P < 0.01).
Conclusion: 1. Liver fibrosis screening test is an excellent non-invasive approach for the diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis and shows significant correlation with liver enzymes. 2. sMICA and sMICB failed to assess the degree of hepatic fibrosis. 3. Decreased percentage of CD4(+), CD8(+), and NK cells were attributed as one of the risk factors for ALD.
Keywords: Hainan Li population; alcoholic liver disease; natural killer cells; soluble major histocompatibility class I-related chain A/B.