Elevated serum soluble E-selectin is associated with poor outcome and correlated with serum ALT in biliary atresia

Biliary atresia (BA) is a serious liver disease. Our objective was to investigate possible roles of serum soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin) in BA.

During their annual follow-up, the serum levels of sE-selectin were determined by ELISA in 53 postoperative BA patients and 10 healthy children. The patients were categorized into two groups according to their jaundice status. Comparisons of demographic data and serum sE-selectin levels between jaundice-free patients and jaundice patients were performed. Correlation analysis was carried out of serum E-selectin with serum ALT and serum GGT. Data are expressed as mean and SD (ng/mL).

The serum sE-selectin of BA patients was higher than that of controls (114.1 +/- 44.0 vs. 88.7 +/- 22.2; p = 0.01). Further subgroup analysis showed that there was an increase in serum sE-selectin levels of BA patients with jaundice (n = 21) compared to those without jaundice (n = 32) (129.7 +/- 48.6 vs. 103.9 +/- 38.1; p = 0.035). Also, serum E-selectin was positively correlated with serum ALT, a marker for liver injury (Pearson r = 0.355, p = 0.009), but not with serum GGT (Pearson r = 0.223, p = 0.12).

Elevated serum sE-selectin was associated with a poor outcome of BA. There was a positive correlation between serum sE-selectin and serum ALT. E-selectin probably plays a role in the pathophysiology of liver injury in postoperative BA.