Impact of serum autotaxin level correlating with histological findings in biliary atresia
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Read the article on jpedsurg.org ↗Article · Apr 2021 · 1 min read
In brief
In brief
Study of 35 biliary atresia patients demonstrates that serum autotaxin levels correlate with liver fibrosis severity, with significantly elevated levels in cirrhotic patients (F4) compared to early-stage fibrosis. Autotaxin shows comparable diagnostic accuracy to M2BPGi for predicting advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis, suggesting potential utility as a non-invasive biomarker for monitoring native liver status in BA patients post-portoenterostomy.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Abstract
Purpose
Portoenterostomy is the standard treatment for biliary atresia (BA) that reduces jaundice in two thirds of cases. However, progressive liver fibrosis is common, leading to cirrhosis in most patients. Autotaxin is a new marker for the progression of hepatic fibrosis. We examined the relationship between serum autotaxin levels and liver histological findings in patients with BA.
Methods
BA patients with native livers were identified in our hospital. Patients underwent protocol liver biopsies every 1 to 5 years, and liver fibrosis was evaluated based on the METAVIR score. Serum autotaxin levels were compared with the last available pathological findings.
Results
Thirty-five patients were included and the median age was 10.6 years. Serum autotaxin levels was median 1.6 mg/L. The mean autotaxin level was 1.08 mg/L in F0, 1.07 mg/L in F1, 0.95 mg/L in F2, 2.17 mg/L in F3, and 2.50 mg/L in F4; it was significantly higher in F4 than in F0–F2 (P<0.0024). For predicting cirrhosis (F4) and advanced liver fibrosis (≥F3), autotaxin had the almost same areas under the curve (AUCs 0.78 and 0.90, respectively) as well as M2BPGi.
Conclusion
Autotaxin levels could be used to evaluate the status of native liver fibrosis.