High hepatocyte growth factor levels in faeces during acute infectious gastroenteritis

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a potent mitogen of mature epithelial cells which is produced after organ injuries and acts as a trigger for regeneration in the impaired organ. The aim of the present study was to investigate local production of HGF during infectious gastroenteritis. We measured the concentration of HGF in serum and faeces in 49 patients with acute infectious gastroenteritis (bacterium = 30, virus = 10, amoebae = 1, and probable infection = 8) at the time of referral to hospital and at convalescence (n = 31). The values were compared with normal healthy vaccination volunteers (n = 11) as well as patients with acute non-infectious diarrhoea (n = 10). The presence of HGF in faeces was confirmed by ELISA and Western immunoblot. HGF concentrations in faeces was significantly higher in the patients with infectious gastroenteritis compared to the control groups (p < 0.0001). Using a cut-off concentration of 20 ng/g, the overall sensitivity of faeces HGF to distinguish infectious gastroenteritis (bacterial, viral, probable infection) was 98% with a specificity of 100%. At convalescence all patients had normal values. There was no significant correlation between HGF concentrations in faeces and serum. Determination of faeces HGF may identify cases of transmittable diarrhoea requiring isolation at an early stage.