Serum Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2-binding protein expression predicts disease severity in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis patients

Abstract

The role of Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein (WFA⁺ -M2BP) in the prediction of disease severity in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains elusive. This study evaluated the performance of WFA⁺ -M2BP in predicting fibrosis in patients with NAFLD. A total of 80 patients with biopsy-proven nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) were enrolled. Serum WFA⁺ -M2BP levels were measured using standard methods. The fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index was also measured. The mean values of WFA⁺ -M2BP were 1.0, 1.0, 0.8, and 2.2 in Metavir fibrosis stage F0, F1, F2, and F3-4, respectively (linear trend p = 0.005). The optimal cut-off value of WFA⁺ -M2BP in predicting advanced fibrosis (F3-4) was 1.37 cut-off index (COI), yielding the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value, and accuracy of 75.0, 79.4, 39.1, 94.7, and 78.7%, respectively (p < 0.001). Combining WFA⁺ -M2BP with FIB-4 significantly increased the diagnostic performance for advanced fibrosis, yielding specificity, PPV, and accuracy of 100, 100, and 93%, respectively. The significant factors predicting advanced liver fibrosis in the multivariate regression analysis were WFA⁺ -M2BP ≥ 1.37 COI (OR/confidence interval [CI]: 9.49/1.63-55.21, p = 0.01) and FIB-4 ≥ 2.80 (OR/CI: 38.18/4.89-297.93, p = 0.001). Monitoring WFA⁺ -M2BP is suitable for noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis in NASH patients, particularly in combination with FIB-4.

Keywords: FIB-4; NASH; WFA+-M2BP; liver fibrosis.