Leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin-2 and fibroblast growth factor 21 in alcohol-induced liver cirrhosis

Jarosław Jerzy Sak; Andrzej Prystupa; Paweł Kiciński; Dorota Luchowska-Kocot; Ewa Kurys-Denis; Hanna Bis-Wencel

doi:10.4254/wjh.v13.i12.2071

Leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin-2 and fibroblast growth factor 21 in alcohol-induced liver cirrhosis

World J Hepatol. 2021 Dec 27;13(12):2071-2080. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v13.i12.2071.

Authors

Jarosław Jerzy Sak¹, Andrzej Prystupa², Paweł Kiciński³, Dorota Luchowska-Kocot⁴, Ewa Kurys-Denis⁵, Hanna Bis-Wencel⁶

Affiliations

¹ Chair and Department of Humanities and Social Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin 20-093, Poland. jaroslaw.sak@umlub.pl.
² Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin 20-081, Poland.
³ Department of Experimental Hematooncology, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin 20-080, Poland.
⁴ Department of Medical Chemistry, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin 20-093, Poland.
⁵ The Second Department of Radiology, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin 20-081, Poland.
⁶ Department of Microbiology and Reproductive Biology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Lublin 20-950, Poland.

Abstract

Background: The importance of early diagnosis of alcoholic liver disease underscores the need to seek better and especially non-invasive diagnostic procedures. Leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin-2 (LECT2) has been widely studied to determine its usefulness in monitoring the course of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease but not for alcoholic liver cirrhosis (ALC).

Aim: To determine the concentration of LECT2 in the blood serum of patients in relation to progressive stages of ALC, its relation to fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF-1) and FGF-21, and to examine the possible wider use of LECT2 in diagnosing ALC.

Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted with 69 ALC cases and 17 controls with no ALC. Subjects were recruited from the region of Lublin (eastern Poland). Liver cirrhosis was diagnosed based on clinical features, history of heavy alcohol consumption, laboratory tests, and abdominal ultrasonography. The degree of ALC was evaluated according to Pugh-Child criteria (the Pugh-Child score). Blood was drawn and, after centrifugation, serum was collected for analysis. LECT2, FGF-1, and FGF-21 were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits.

Results: The LECT2 Levels in the control group were 18.99 ± 5.36 ng/mL. In the study groups, they declined with the progression of cirrhosis to 11.06 ± 6.47 ng/mL in one group and to 8.06 ± 5.74 ng/mL in the other (P < 0.0001). Multiple comparison tests confirmed the statistically significant differences in LECT2 Levels between the control group and both test groups (P = 0.006 and P < 0.0001). FGF-21 Levels were 44.27 ± 64.19 pg/mL in the first test group, 45.4 ± 51.69 pg/mL in the second (P = 0.008), and 13.52 ± 7.51 pg/mL in the control group. The difference between the control group and the second test group was statistically significant (P = 0.007).

Conclusion: We suggest that LECT2 may be a non-invasive diagnostic factor for alcohol-induced liver cirrhosis. The usefulness of LECT2 for non-invasive monitoring of alcohol-induced liver cirrhosis was indirectly confirmed by the multiple regression model developed on the basis of our statistical analysis.

Keywords: Alcoholic liver cirrhosis; Fibroblast growth factor 1; Fibroblast growth factor 21; Leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin-2; Pugh-Child score.