Value Of Serum LECT2 Level In Noninvasive Diagnosis Of Degree Of HBV-associated Liver Fibrosis

Objective Timely monitoring the occurrence and progress of liver fibrosis in chronic HBV infected patients and early clinical intervention are of great importance for delaying the disease development of patients with chronic hepatitis B.At present,invasive liver biopsy is the gold standard for accurately diagnosing the degree of liver fibrosis.The content of this study was to compare the difference of LECT2 levels in serum and the difference of LECT2 protein and m RNA expression levels in liver tissues of chronic HBV infected patients with different degrees of liver fibrosis,and to compare the diagnostic value with FIB-4 and APRI scoring system.To further explore the relationship between LECT2 and HBV DNA and routine laboratory tests.MethodsSerological samples from 147 patients who underwent liver biopsy were screened to collect complete clinical data.According to GS stage,the samples were divided into mild liver fibrosis(S0-S1)group,significant liver fibrosis(S2)group,severe liver fibrosis(S3)group,and cirrhosis(S4)group.The concentration of LECT2 in serum of samples from each group was detected by enzyme-linked immunsorbent assay,and whether there was statistical difference in the serum level of LECT2 between different groups was compared.The diagnostic value of LECT2 in the diagnosis of liver fibrosis degree was evaluated by ROC curve,and compared with FIB-4 and APRI scoring system.Immunohistochemical staining and RNAscope were used to study the difference in protein and m RNA expression levels of LECT2 in different liver fibrosis stages.The correlation between LECT2 and routine laboratory examination indexes of chronic HBV infected patients was further analyzed.ResultsThe level of LECT2 in serum increased with the degree of liver fibrosis,and there was a significant difference between the S0-S1 group and the S2-S4 group(P < 0.01),as well as between the S0-S2 group and the S3-S4 group(P < 0.01).In addition,according to ROC curve analysis,LECT2 has high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of significant or even severe liver fibrosis,and its value in the diagnosis and evaluation of S2-S4 staging of liver fibrosis is superior to FIB-4 and APRI scoring system.There was no difference in the APRI scoring system between S3-S4 and FIB-4 in the diagnosis of liver fibrosis.Immunohistochemical staining of liver biopsy samples showed that the expression level of LECT2 protein was different in different degree of liver fibrosis,and the expression level increased with the increase of liver fibrosis degree.At the same time,the RNAscope test showed that the level of LECT2 m RNA in liver tissue was also positively correlated with the degree of liver fibrosis.The level of LECT2 in serum of chronic HBV patients with HBV DNA≥1×105(IU/ ml)was significantly increased by statistical analysis of clinical test indexes.Meanwhile,serum LECT2 level was positively correlated with ALT,AST and GGT.ConclusionSerum LECT2 level is valuable in the diagnosis of the degree of liver fibrosis.Compared with the existing gold standard liver biopsy,it is non-invasive and more feasible for patients to accept.Compared with internationally recognized liver fibrosis scoring systems FIB-4 and APRI,the combination of LECT2 concentration in patients’ serum is beneficial for the detection of early liver fibrosis.It provides important guidance for clinical treatment.The protein and m RNA levels of LECT2 in liver tissues were also consistent with the serum results,supporting this study result.