Collagen gene cluster expression and liver fibrogenesis in patients with biliary atresia: a preliminary study

Biliary atresia (BA) is a progressive fibro-obliterative disease of the biliary tract, which results in end-stage liver disease. However, liver fibrosis progression may continue even after Kasai surgery. Recent evidence showed that collagen plays a pivotal role in the progression of liver fibrosis in BA. However, most studies were conducted in developed countries. We investigated the expressions of the collagen gene cluster (COL6A1, COL6A2, COL6A3, and COL1A1) in BA patients in Indonesia.

There was a significant down-regulated expression of COL6A1 (ΔC_T 9.06 ± 2.64 vs. 5.42 ± 2.41; p = 0.0009), COL6A2 (ΔC_T 8.25 ± 2.07 vs. 5.77 ± 3.51; p = 0.02), COL6A3 (ΔC_T 11.2 ± 6.08 vs. 6.78 ± 3.51; p = 0.024), and COL1A1 (ΔC_T 3.26 ± 1.71 vs. 0.19 ± 2.76; p = 0.0015) in BA patients compared to controls. Interestingly, the collagen gene cluster expressions were significantly associated with the presence of cirrhosis (p = 0.0085, 0.04, and 0.0283 for COL6A1, COL6A2, and COL6A3, respectively). In conclusion, our study shows the changes in the collagen gene cluster, particularly collagen type I and VI, expressions in patients with BA in a particular developing country. Our findings suggest the role of these collagen gene clusters in the liver fibrogenesis of BA.