Objectives: To explore the correlation between plasma Golgi protein 73 (GP73) and progression of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced hepatic fibrosis.
Methods: A total of 232 subjects of chronic hepatitis C and 31 healthy controls were enrolled from the Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 2010 to September 2018. The plasma GP73 levels were detected by ELISA. Liver tissue sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin and Masson-trichrome were examined under a light microscope based on the METAVIR scoring system and "Beijing classification (P-I-R)". The correlation analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were performed to analyze the diagnostic efficiency of plasma GP73, APRI, and FIB-4 for staging hepatic fibrosis and predicting the disease progression.
Results: The plasma GP73 levels were increased with the progression of liver fibrosis, and GP73 concentrations in healthy controls, HCV patients with fibrosis stage 1, 2, 3 and 4 were 94.82, 151.3, 157.9, 181.7 and 208.5 ng/ml, respectively. According to "Beijing classification", There was a statistically significant difference in plasma GP73 concentrations between patients in the progression and regressive / indeterminate group (177.08 vs 154.00 ng/ml , P = 0.007).The area under the ROC curves (AUCs) of GP73, APRI, and FIB-4 for diagnosis of liver cirrhosis were 0.89, 0.77, and 0.82, respectively, and GP73 for progressive fibrosis was 0.73. The plasma GP73 levels were significantly positively correlated with hepatic inflammation, serum ALT, and negatively correlated with albumin levels.
Conclusion: The plasma GP73 might be a potential biomarker for staging liver fibrosis, and could predict regression or progression of HCV-related liver fibrosis.