Cholesterol esterification in plasma as a biomarker for liver function and prediction of mortality

BMC Gastroenterology

Research Article

Daniel Seehofer¹  Michael Bartels¹  Markus Scholz²  Benedict Kinny-Köster³  Thorsten Kaiser³  Uta Ceglarek⁴  Joachim Thiery⁴  Susen Becker⁴  Thomas Berg⁵  Cornelius Engelmann⁵ 

[1] Department of Visceral, Vascular, Thoracic and Transplant Surgery, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany;Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology (IMISE), University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany;Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital Leipzig, Paul-List-Str. 13-15, 04103, Leipzig, Germany;Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital Leipzig, Paul-List-Str. 13-15, 04103, Leipzig, Germany;LIFE – Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany;Section of Hepatology, Department of Gastroenterology and Rheumatology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany;

关键词: Cholesterol esterification;    Mortality;    Model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score;    International Normalized Ratio (INR);    Orthotopic liver transplantation;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12876-017-0614-9

 received in 2016-10-29, accepted in 2017-04-13,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAdvanced stages of liver cirrhosis lead to a dramatically increased mortality. For valid identification of these patients suitable biomarkers are essential. The most important biomarkers for liver function are bilirubin and prothrombin time expressed as International Normalized Ratio (INR). However, the influence of several anticoagulants on the prothrombin time limits its diagnostic value.Aim of this study was the evaluation of cholesterol esterification (CE) fraction (esterified cholesterol vs. total cholesterol) as an alternative biomarker for liver synthesis and mortality prediction. Under physiological conditions the CE fraction in blood is closely regulated by lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) which is produced in the liver.MethodsOne hundred forty-two patients with liver disease clinically considered for orthotopic liver transplant for different indications were enrolled in the study. One patient was excluded because of the intake of a direct oral factor Xa inhibitor which has a strong impact on prothrombin time.ResultsResults of CE fraction were in good agreement with INR (R2 = 0.73; p < 0.001). In patients who died or survived within three months mean CE fraction was 56% vs. 74% (p < 0.001) and mean INR was 2.0 vs. 1.3 (p < 0.001), respectively. The predictive value of CE fraction for three-month mortality risk was higher compared to INR (p = 0.04). Results for one-year mortality were comparable.ConclusionsThe cholesterol esterification fraction is a valid biomarker for liver synthesis and allows reliable prediction of mortality. In contrast to INR, it is independent of anticoagulation and other analytical limitations of coagulation tests.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017