A Study on the relationship between serum levels of hyaluronic acid, type III procollagen, type IV collagen and hepatic fibrosis

Objective To study the relationship between levels of hyaluronic acid (HA), type Ⅲ procollagen (PCⅢ), type Ⅳ collagen (ⅣC) and hepatic fibrosis.Methods These 3 serum components were measured in 114 patients with chronic hepatitis B(CHB) by radioimmunoassay. Liver biopsy as well as serum HA, PCⅢ and ⅣC detection were performed at the same time in all patients, the results of which were compared with hepatic histological findings diagnosed by the standard of hepatic histological grade and stage.Results Serum concentration of HA, PCⅢ and ⅣC were increased with the progression of disease, and reached the highest leves in liver cirrhosis. These components were also increased with the progression of hepatic histological grade and stage, and reached the highest levels in grade 4 and stage 4. The serum levels of HA、PC Ⅲ and ⅣC all were positively correlated with inflammation activity and fibrosis of the liver ( P 0.05), but more closely correlated with hepatic fibrosis.Conclusion The results suggest that determination of serum HA、PCⅢ and ⅣC may be of value in diagnosing hepatic fibrosis.