Involvement of REST corepressor 3 in prognosis of human hepatitis B

To examine the potential correlation between serum REST corepressor 3 (RCOR3) level and the outcome of patients with hepatitis B.

Concanavalin A (ConA)-induced mouse hepatitis model was used. The mRNA level of RCOR3 in mouse liver was measured using GeneChip array and real-time PCR. One hundred seventy-seven patients with hepatitis B and 34 healthy individuals were categorized into six groups including mild chronic hepatitis, moderate chronic hepatitis B, severe hepatitis B (SHB), cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and healthy control. Serum levels of human RCOR3 were measured using ELISA.

In the mouse hepatitis model, the mRNA level of RCOR3 in liver was reduced early after exposure to ConA, then increased after 6 h of exposure. There was no significant difference in the serum RCOR3 level between the mild chronic hepatitis B and the control groups. The serum RCOR3 level was significantly increased in the moderate chronic hepatitis B group, but significantly reduced in SHB, cirrhosis and HCC groups, as compared with the control group. Moreover, the serum RCOR3 levels in SHB, cirrhosis and liver cancer patients were significantly lower than those in the patients with moderate chronic hepatitis B and with mild chronic hepatitis B. Rank correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation between serum RCOR3 level and total bilirubin (r=-0.305, P<0.01). There was no significant correlation between RCOR3 on one hand, and alanine transaminase (r=0.014, P>0.05) or aspartate transaminase (r=-0.079, P>0.05) on the other hand.

Serum RCOR3 level may reflect the degree of liver damage, which might be a potential biomarker for the outcome of patients with hepatitis B.