Experimental study on serum fibrosis biomarkers in hepatic fibrosis rabbit model

Objective To explore the relationship between serum fibrosis biomarkers and stages of hepatic fibrosis. Methods Forty-five rabbits were randomly divided into experiment group(n=36) and control group(n=9).Hepatic fibrosis models were established by intraperitoneal injection of carbon tetrachloride(CCl4) in experiment rabbits.Serum fibrosis biomarkers(hyaluronic acid,type Ⅲ procollagen,laminin,type Ⅳ collagen) and pathology were observed respectively at the 6th,9th and 12th week after the first injection.According to pathological grade and stage,the rabbits were grouped. Results Thirty rabbits completed the detection,including 9 cases of normal liver,6 cases of mild liver fibrosis,7 cases of moderate liver fibrosis and 8 cases of severe liver fibrosis.With the aggravation of hepatic fibrosis,hyaluronic acid,type Ⅲ procollagen,laminin,type Ⅳ collagen were increased gradually.All those four biomarkers were positively correlated with histopathological staging(P0.05),especially type Ⅳ collagen(r=0.718,P0.05). Conclusion Serum fibrosis biomarkers are effective indices to evaluate the severity of hepatic fibrosis.Ⅳ-C is the best for the diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis in the four biomarkers.