What are the indicators of liver fibrosis?

Liver fibrosis is a liver disease that accompanies chronic liver disease and is not currently considered an independent disease. Many people don’t quite understand fibrosis, so let’s give an example. When our skin is broken somewhere, there will be a wound, and when the wound heals, a scar will be left. This type of scar is formed by fibrous tissue, and the process of scarring is called fibrosis. A condition called fibrosis is similar to this scarring process, but in the liver. What are the indicators of liver fibrosis?

The liver fibrosis indexes examined include PCⅢ (type III procollagen), IV-C (type IV collagen), LN (laminin), HA (hyaluronidase), CG (glycocholic acid), PLD (proline peptidase), MAO (monoamine oxidase), and PINP (type I procollagen amino-terminal peptide). The liver fibrosis index test is an assessment of the degree of liver fibrosis in chronic liver disease. Early detection of liver fibrosis is helpful in curbing the progression of hepatitis B to a worse direction.

(1) PCⅢ (type III procollagen): normal range <18 ng/mL. (2) IV-C (type IV collagen) normal range is 30-140 ng/mL. (3) LN (laminin): normal range 50-180 ng/mL. (4) HA (hyaluronidase): normal range <120 ng/mL. (5) Prolidase (PLD): normal value 1107±19.5u/L. (6) Monoamine oxidase (MAO): normal value 3.3-15.1nmol/(s·L).

Clinical significance

Abnormal results: (1) Slow-acting liver with continuous increase in PCIII indicates that the condition may worsen and develop into cirrhosis.

(2) Increased levels of IV-C (type IV collagen) can reflect the degree of liver fibrosis. As the disease progresses from chronic liver disease to chronic active liver disease to cirrhosis to liver cancer, the serum content of IV-C collagen gradually increases.

(3) The higher the LN level, the more significant the esophageal varices in patients with cirrhosis.

(4) Blood HA levels are higher than 100 µg/L, indicating the presence of liver cirrhosis and liver fibrosis.

(5) The CG of patients with acute hepatitis, chronic active hepatitis, cirrhosis and primary liver cancer was significantly higher than that of the normal control group.

(6) In quiescent chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis, ALT is normal, but PLD is significantly elevated. Therefore, PLD is a good indicator of acute liver damage and progressive liver fibrosis.

(7) Increased MAO levels in patients with liver cancer indicate that the patients also have liver cirrhosis.

(8) During liver fibrosis, the amount of PINP synthesis increases, causing changes in the concentration of PINP in serum. People who need to be examined: patients with liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Inspection process

6 ml of venous blood was drawn and tested in ordinary tubes for the concentrations of CⅢ (type III procollagen), IV-C (type IV collagen), LN (laminin), HA (hyaluronidase), CG (glycocholic acid), PLD (proline peptidase), MAO (monoamine oxidase), and PINP (type I procollagen amino-terminal peptide).

Patients should be careful not to take any medications before the examination, because some medications will increase the burden on the liver, damage the liver, and affect the accuracy of the examination. Make sure you get enough sleep before the examination and avoid strenuous exercise, which will increase the level of enzymes in the body and affect the test results. Do not eat before the test, as blood draw requires an empty stomach.