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Updated: Nov 27, 2025

Bile Duct Ligation in Mice: Induction of Inflammatory Liver Injury and Fibrosis by Obstructive Cholestasis
Published on: February 10, 2015
Increased Serum Expression of Inflammatory Cytokines may Serve as Potential Diagnostic Biomarker for Bilirubin
Hanzhou Guan1, Chenghu Wang1, Xinhua Zhang1
1Department of Neonatology, Shanxi Provincial Children's Hospital, Taiyuan, China.
Objectives:
The present study was designed to explore the roles of inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and Tumor growth factor-β (TGF-β) in the diagnosis and treatment of neonate bilirubin encephalopathy (BE).
Methods:
A total of 128 BE neonates and 128 normal neonates were included. The serum samples of the BE children and controls were collected, and the levels of IL-1β and TGF-β were examined. Moreover, the correlation between the level of bilirubin and serum expression of IL-1β or TGF-β in BE patients was analyzed. Finally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to determine the diagnostic value of the cytokines.
Results:
IL-1β and TGF-β levels were higher in the serum of BE patients than those in non-BE patients, and the expression of either IL-1β or TGF-β showed a strong positive correlation with the serum expression of bilirubin in BE patients. Moreover, the results of ROC analysis showed that either IL-1β or TGF-β could distinguish BE patients from healthy controls.
Conclusion:
IL-1β and TGF-β levels were upregulated in BE and might function as potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets for BE patients.
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