Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2026
A Mouse Model of Chronic Liver Fibrosis for the Study of Biliary Atresia
Published on: February 3, 2023
Correlation of circulating endoglin with clinical outcome in biliary atresia
K Preativatanyou1, S Honsawek, V Chongsrisawat
1Faculty of Medicine Chulalongkorn University, Parasitology, Bangkok, Thailand.
Insights
High circulating endoglin levels indicate a poor prognosis for children with biliary atresia (BA) after the Kasai operation. Plasma endoglin may serve as a biomarker for liver injury and biliary obstruction in BA patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Hepatology
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Biliary atresia (BA) is a progressive inflammatory condition affecting the bile ducts in children.
- Early diagnosis and management are crucial for improving outcomes in BA patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate circulating endoglin levels in pediatric patients with biliary atresia (BA).
- To compare endoglin levels in BA patients with healthy controls.
- To determine the correlation between plasma endoglin levels and clinical outcomes after the Kasai operation.
Main Methods:
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure plasma endoglin levels.
- Fifty-five postoperative BA patients and 14 healthy controls were analyzed.
- Patients were stratified based on total bilirubin and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels.
Main Results:
- BA patients exhibited significantly higher plasma endoglin levels than healthy controls (P=0.02).
- Elevated endoglin levels were associated with persistent jaundice (P=0.006), high ALT (P=0.003), and portal hypertension (P=0.001).
- Plasma endoglin positively correlated with serum ALT (r=0.36, P=0.007) and GGT (r=0.44, P=0.001).
Conclusions:
- Increased circulating endoglin levels in BA patients correlate with poorer outcomes.
- Plasma endoglin shows potential as a biomarker for assessing liver injury severity and biliary obstruction post-Kasai procedure.
Background And Aim:
Biliary atresia (BA) is a chronic progressive inflammatory disorder of the extrahepatic and intrahepatic biliary system in children. The aim of the present study was to investigate circulating endoglin levels in BA patients compared with healthy controls and to determine the relationship between plasma endoglin levels and outcome parameters of BA patients after Kasai operation.
Methods:
Fifty-five postoperative BA patients and 14 healthy controls were recruited. The patients were divided into two groups based on their serum total bilirubin levels (TB<34.2, no jaundice vs. TB>or=34.2 micromol/L, persistent jaundice) and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT<45, normal ALT vs. ALT>or=45 IU/L, high ALT). Circulating endoglin levels were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results:
Average levels of plasma endoglin were significantly higher in BA patients compared to healthy controls (7.8+/-0.4 vs. 6.5+/-0.4 ng/mL; P=0.02). BA patients with persistent jaundice had higher plasma endoglin levels than those without jaundice (9.2+/-0.8 vs. 6.9+/-0.3 ng/mL; P=0.006). Furthermore, the concentrations of plasma endoglin in BA patients with high ALT were significantly higher compared to those with normal ALT (8.5+/-0.5 vs. 6.3+/-0.5 ng/mL, P=0.003). In addition, BA patients with portal hypertension had more elevated plasma endoglin levels than those without portal hypertension (8.8+/-0.6 vs. 6.1+/-0.3 ng/mL, P=0.001). Plasma endoglin was positively correlated with serum ALT (r=0.36, P=0.007) and serum GGT (r=0.44, P=0.001).
Conclusion:
High circulating endoglin correlated with a poor outcome for BA. Plasma endoglin can be utilized as a potential biomarker reflecting the severity of ongoing liver injury and biliary obstruction in BA patients after Kasai procedure.
