The Relationship Between Expression Of Transthyretin And Progression Of Liver Fibrosis

Objects: To explore the changes in transthyretin(TTR)expression in liver tissues as liver fibrosis(LF)progresses.Methods: Thirty-six rats(6 control and 30 LF)were enrolled in this study.The rats in the LF group were injected intraperitoneally with thioacetamide(TAA)to establish a rat model of liver fibrosis.During the establishment of the model,5 LF group rats and 1 control group rats were randomly selected to harvest liver tissues each week.Sirius red,hematoxylin-eosin(HE)stains were used to determine liver fibrosis stage.Changes in TTR protein expression were determined by immunohistochemistry and western blotting while changes in Ttr mRNA were detected by RT-PCR.Significant difference analysis was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test and correlation analysis was performed using a Spearman rank correlation test.Results: We successfully established a rat liver fibrosis model.During the course of liver fibrosis,the expression of TTR protein and Ttr mRNA in rat liver decreased gradually with increasing stages of liver fibrosis.Semi-quantitative analysis of immunohistochemical results showed that the expression of TTR was negatively correlated with the stage of liver fibrosis(r =-0.714,P< 0.05).The differences in TTR expression were all statistically significant between each fibrosis stage,as analyzed in a pairwise manner.Conclusion: As liver fibrosis stage increased,the expression of TTR in rat liver gradually decreased.These changes in TTR expression could be used to evaluate the stages of liver fibrosis.