1.Serum prohepcidin levels in chronic hepatitis C, alcoholic liver disease, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Sang Hyub LEE ; Sook Hyang JEONG ; Young Soo PARK ; Jin Hyeok HWANG ; Jin Wook KIM ; Nayoung KIM ; Dong Ho LEE
The Korean Journal of Hepatology 2010;16(3):288-294
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Patients with various chronic liver diseases frequently have increased body iron stores. Prohepcidin is an easily measurable precursor of hepcidin, which is a key regulator of iron homeostasis. This study investigated the serum prohepcidin levels in patients with various chronic liver diseases with various etiologies. METHODS: Serum prohepcidin levels were measured in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CH-C) (n=28), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (n=24), and alcoholic liver disease (ALD) (n=22), and in healthy controls (n=25) using commercial ELISA. Serum interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels and blood iron indices were also measured. RESULTS: The serum levels of both prohepcidin and IL-6 were significantly higher in CH-C patients than in healthy controls, and there was a positive correlation between the IL-6 and prohepcidin levels (r=0.505, p=0.020). The prohepcidin levels in ALD patients did not differ from those in controls, despite their significantly elevated IL-6 levels. There was a tendency for a negative correlation between serum prohepcidin levels and transferrin saturation in ALD patients (r=-0.420, p=0.051). Neither prohepcidin nor IL-6 was significantly elevated in the NAFLD group, despite the presence of elevated serum iron and ferritin levels. CONCLUSIONS: The role of prohepcidin may differ in different human liver diseases. In the setting of CH-C, both the serum prohepcidin and IL-6 levels were significantly elevated and were positively correlated with each other.
Adult
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Aged
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Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides/*blood/physiology
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Fatty Liver/blood/diagnosis
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Female
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Ferritins/blood
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Hepatitis C, Chronic/*blood/diagnosis
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Humans
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Interleukin-6/blood
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Iron/blood
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Liver Diseases, Alcoholic/*blood/diagnosis
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Male
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Middle Aged
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Protein Precur