Pentraxin 3 Detects Clinically Significant Fibrosis in Patients with Chronic Viral Hepatitis C

Abstract

Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) plays a pathogenic role in experimental models of chronic liver injury and contributes to the progression of fibrosis. The detection of advanced fibrosis (METAVIR F≥3) is important to identify patients who are in urgent need of antiviral treatments versus those whose treatment could be deferred (F≥2). The aim was to assess the diagnostic value of PTX3 as a potential biomarker for clinically significant and advanced fibrosis. PTX3 associations with biochemical and histological parameters of inflammatory activity and fibrosis were investigated in 138 patients with chronic viral hepatitis C (HCV) before antiviral treatment. METAVIR histological scores of activity and fibrosis were obtained. PTX3 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The diagnostic accuracy of serum PTX3 levels was compared to that of other fibrosis markers, including transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF-β1), hyaluronic acid (HA), aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index (APRI), fibrosis score based on four factors (FIB4), gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase to platelet ratio (GPR), and the liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by transient elastography (FibroScan®). In HCV patients the PTX3 level increased in parallel with the METAVIR histological score of activity, being independently associated with the METAVIR fibrosis score (P < 0.001). Using the receiver operating characteristics analysis, the best marker for detecting F≥2 and F≥3 was PTX3 with AUC = 0.802 and AUC = 0.867, respectively. The area under the curve of PTX3 for predicting significant fibrosis (F≥2) was significantly greater than those for the GPR ratio (AUC = 0.648) and FIB-4 score (AUC = 0.770) and similar to that for APRI index (AUC = 0.831). PTX3 provided clinically relevant diagnostic accuracy as a single marker of significant fibrosis.

Serum pentraxin 3 as a biomarker of hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis B virus infection

“…In liver diseases, PTX3 levels were markedly higher in NASH than in simple steatosis non-NASH patients 30,31 . PTX3 levels were also related to the severity of liver fibrosis in NASH 30 and HCV infection 34 . It is suggested that PTX3 is involved in pathogenesis of hepatic inflammation and fibrosis which are common milieu at the origin of HCC 43 .…”

“…Hepatic and plasma PTX3 was raised in alcoholic hepatitis patients and PTX3 expression was related to the disease severity and short-term mortality 33 . Serum PTX3 was clinically shown to have valid diagnostic accuracy as a marker of fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection 34 and increased PTX3 plasma level was a risk factor for HCC occurrence in chronic HCV infection 35 . Furthermore, PTX3 was shown to be able to promote HCC progression and high PTX3 expression in tumor tissues was related to unfavorable prognosis in HCC patients 36 .…”

Pentraxin 3 as non-invasive biomarker of fibrosis and carotid intima-media thickness in patients with metabolic associated fatty liver disease

“…MAFLD is a systemic disease that increases risk of both hepatic and extrahepatic complications, with cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in these patients, which is also associated with severity of liver brosis (4,19). CIMT is a standard method for evaluation of early general atherosclerosis.…”

IQGAP1‐mediated mechanical signaling promotes the foreign body response to biomedical implants

“…WT fibroblasts were found to preferentially upregulate pro-fibrotic gene expression compared to those from IQGAP1 +/− MSI capsules. We observed elevation of Acta2 (encoding smooth muscle alpha actin, aSMA), as well as Cxcl5, Cxcl2, Saa3, and Ptx3, all of which have been implicated in fibrotic pathologies encompassing pulmonary, hepatic, and myocardial fibrosis [42][43][44][45] (Figure 4B). Specifically, the CXCL-family of cytokines have been shown to positively influence myofibroblast phenoconversion and ECM deposition.…”