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Serum soluble vascular-cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in patients with acute and chronic liver diseases
M Pirisi1, C Fabris, E Falleti
1Department of Experimental and Clinical Pathology and Medicine, University of Udine, Italy.
Insights
Serum soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) levels are elevated in patients with liver disease, reflecting disease severity rather than cause. Acute hepatitis and cirrhosis show higher VCAM-1 than mild chronic liver disease.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Immunology
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) is implicated in inflammatory processes.
- Understanding VCAM-1 levels in liver disease can offer insights into disease mechanisms and severity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the variation in serum VCAM-1 concentrations based on the nature and severity of liver disease.
- To determine if VCAM-1 levels correlate with specific liver disease etiologies or functional impairment.
Main Methods:
- Immunoenzymatic measurement of serum VCAM-1 in 123 patients with acute hepatitis, mild chronic liver disease, or cirrhosis, and 17 healthy controls.
- Statistical analysis using one-way and two-way ANOVA, and Bonferroni's test to compare VCAM-1 levels across disease groups and etiologies.
- Identification of independent predictors for VCAM-1 concentration.
Main Results:
- Significant variability in serum VCAM-1 was observed among patient groups (p < 0.0001).
- All patient groups exhibited higher VCAM-1 than controls.
- Acute hepatitis and cirrhosis groups had significantly higher VCAM-1 than the mild chronic liver disease group (p < 0.01).
- Etiology (viral vs. toxic) did not significantly alter these findings.
- Cholinesterase, total bilirubin, thrombocytes, and blood urea nitrogen were identified as independent predictors of VCAM-1 concentration.
Conclusions:
- Serum VCAM-1 is elevated in patients with liver disease.
- VCAM-1 levels appear to be a stronger indicator of liver function impairment severity than the specific etiological cause of the disease.
- VCAM-1 may serve as a valuable biomarker for assessing liver disease severity.
Abstract:
Our aim was to ascertain the degree of variation of serum soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) concentrations according to the nature and the severity of an underlying liver disease. One-hundred forty sera collected from 123 patients (83 male, 40 female) with acute hepatitis (n = 14), mild chronic liver disease (n = 52) or cirrhosis (n = 57) of different etiologies as well as from 17 healthy blood donors (8 male, 9 female) were studied. Soluble VCAM-1 concentration was measured immunoenzymatically. One-way analysis of variance revealed a significant variability of the mean values of soluble VCAM-1 among groups (F = 80.02, p < 0.0001). All groups of patients had higher soluble VCAM-1 than controls; moreover, patients with acute hepatitis and patients with cirrhosis had higher soluble VCAM-1 levels than patients with mild chronic liver disease (Bonferroni's test, p < 0.01). These results did not change after stratification of patients according to the etiology (viral or toxic) of liver disease (two-way analysis of variance: grouping factor diagnosis, F = 60.39, p < 0.0001; grouping factor etiology, F = 1.73, p NS). Cholinesterase, total bilirubin, circulating thrombocytes and blood area nitrogen were the independent predictors of the concentration of soluble VCAM-1. In conclusion, patients with liver disease have high serum soluble VCAM-1, which seems to reflect more the severity of impairment of liver function rather than the etiologic nature of the disease.