Accuracy of M2BPGi, compared with Fibro Scan®, in analysis of liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis C

Abstract

BackgroundMac-2 Binding Protein Glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi) is a novel serological glyco-biomarker for staging liver fibrosis. Here, we aimed to evaluate the efficiency of serum M2BPGi in identifying liver fibrosis stages in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.MethodsSerum M2BPGi levels were evaluated in 680 patients with chronic hepatitis C and 164 healthy controls who underwent the Fibro Scan® test of liver fibrosis. The diagnostic accuracy of serum M2BPGi values was compared to that of other fibrosis markers, including Fibro Scan®, the aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index (APRI), the fibrosis index based on four factors (FIB4), and the gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase to platelet ratio (GPR).ResultsAmong the chronic hepatitis C patients, the median serum M2BPGi level increased with increasing fibrosis score as follows: 0.88 (≤F2), 1.70 (F2/F3), and 5.68 (cirrhosis). M2BPGi concentrations could also distinguish between healthy controls (0.38 ± 0.24) and hepatitis C patients (1.57 ± 2.28). After adjusting for potential confounders, M2BPGi was the most significant factor associated with the liver stiffness measurement (effect size = 0.275, P < 0.001). The optimum cutoff values of serum M2BPGi for patients with F2 and F4 were 0.945 and 1.355, respectively. The area under the curve of serum M2BPGi for prediction of significant fibrosis (F ≥ 4) using was comparable to that of APRI (0.892 vs. 0.873), while it was superior to that of other alternative markers, including FIB4 (0.818) and GPR (0.851). Compared with other non-invasive markers, M2BPGi had the greatest specificity for diagnosing cirrhosis and cirrhosis in hepatitis C patients.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the level of serum M2BPGi would be a simple and reliable diagnostic tool for identifying liver fibrosis stage in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis.

Association of Mac‐2‐binding protein glycosylation isomer level with nutritional status in chronic liver disease

“…M2BPGi was identified as a novel glycoprotein‐based biomarker for staging liver fibrosis in glycoproteomic biomarker screening studies . M2BPGi has been reported to have higher efficacy in predicting liver fibrosis than APRI and FIB‐4 index in patients with HCV infection . M2BPGi is also a potential marker for hepatocarcinogenesis and for predicting the efficacy of direct‐acting antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C …”

“…14,43 M2BPGi has been reported to have higher efficacy in predicting liver fibrosis than APRI and FIB-4 index in patients with HCV infection. 44 M2BPGi is also a potential marker for hepatocarcinogenesis and for predicting the efficacy of direct-acting antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C. 21,45 Figure 3 Associations between liver fibrosis markers and nutritional status markers in all patients. The correlation coefficients between serum Mac-2binding protein glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi) levels and serum albumin (ALB) concentrations, branched-chain amino acid-to-tyrosine ratio (BTR), and controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score were À0.649 (P < 0.001), À0.587 (P < 0.001), and 0.671 (P < 0.001), respectively, which were higher than those between other fibrosis markers (fibrosis-4 [FIB-4] index and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index [APRI]) and nutritional status markers.…”

Liver fibrosis assessments using FibroScan, Virtual-Touch tissue quantification, the FIB-4 index, and Mac-2 binding protein glycosylation isomer levels compared with pathological findings of liver resection specimens in patients with hepatitis C infection

“…As noted above, the FIB-4 index and M2BPGi level yielded relatively poor results in comparison with previous studies. [10][11][12][13] According to the ROC analyses, the sensitivity and speci city of the FIB-4 index and M2BPGi level for diagnosing brosis decreased as liver brosis progressed. However, the detection of brosis using bloodbased parameters was equivalent to that using FibroScan and VTQ for mild brosis stages.…”

Liver stiffness in chronic hepatitis C virus infection

“…The Mac-2 Binding Protein Glycosylation isomer, a new liver fibrosis glyco-biomarker, was significantly associated with liver stiffness measurement estimated using a Fibro Scan® in a study involving 680 patients with chronic HCV infection and 164 healthy controls. The optimum cut-off values of this serum biomarker were 0.945 for F2 and 1.355 for F4 [75].…”