GP73 Level in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B: Relationship with Liver Biopsy, Levels of ALT, AST and HBV DNA

GP73 Level with Chronic Hepatitis B: ALT, AST and HBV DNA

Authors

  • Ratan Kumar Ramani Department of Medicine, Khairpur Medical College, Civil Hospital, Khairpur Mir's, Pakistan
  • Sarwat Ashraf Department of Medicine, Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jillani Institute of Medical Sciences, Gambat, Pakistan
  • Abdul Hayee Phulpoto Department of Medicine, Khairpur Medical College, Civil Hospital, Khairpur Mir's, Pakistan
  • Safder Ali Pervez Department of Medicine, Khairpur Medical College, Civil Hospital, Khairpur Mir's, Pakistan
  • Abdul Qayoom Memon Department of Medicine, Khairpur Medical College, Civil Hospital, Khairpur Mir's, Pakistan
  • Asif Aziz Department of Medicine, Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jillani Institute of Medical Sciences, Gambat, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54393/pjhs.v6i6.2821

Keywords:

Golgi Protein 73, Chronic Hepatitis B, Liver Diseases, Necro-Inflammations, Ishak Scoring System

Abstract

GP73 is a serum protein that increases with liver disease progression in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and has been proposed as a marker for liver status monitoring. Objectives: To evaluate the correlation between GP73 levels, Histological Activity Index (HAI), and fibrosis stages in CHB patients, assessing its potential as a non-invasive biomarker. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted over six months (May to October 2024) at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Khairpur Medical College/Civil Hospital Khairpur. A total of 250 CHB patients were enrolled and categorized by fibrosis stages and HAI scores. GP73 concentrations were measured using ELISA. Patients were classified based on fibrosis stage (F0-F4) and HAI scores, determined through liver biopsy, with F0 representing no fibrosis and F4 indicating cirrhosis. Statistical analysis included one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis test, and correlation analysis. Results: GP73 levels increased progressively with fibrosis stages: 5.3 ng/mL in Group 1, 6.1 ng/mL in Group 2, and 7.5 ng/mL in Group 3 (p=0.001). GP73 also rose with HAI scores, from 5.0 ng/mL in minimal to 8.0 ng/mL in severe activity groups (p=0.05). GP73 showed a moderate correlation with fibrosis stage (r=0.6, p<0.05) and a strong correlation with HAI (r=0.75, p<0.001). Conclusions: GP73 is a promising non-invasive biomarker for evaluating liver fibrosis and necroinflammation in CHB, warranting further validation in larger studies.

References

Hsu YC, Huang DQ, Nguyen MH. Global burden of hepatitis B virus: current status, missed opportunities and a call for action. Nature reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2023 Aug; 20(8): 524-37. doi: 10.1038/s41575-023-00760-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-023-00760-9

Alsulaimany FA. Overview of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) Infection. Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Science. 2023 Jan; 33(1).

World Health Organization. Guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis, care and treatment for people with chronic hepatitis B infection. World Health Organization. 2024 Mar.

Iannacone M, Andreata F, Guidotti LG. Immunological insights in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Current Opinion in Immunology. 2022 Aug; 77: 102207. doi: 10.1016/j.coi.2022.102207. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coi.2022.102207

Meng Z, Chen Y, Lu M. Advances in targeting the innate and adaptive immune systems to cure chronic hepatitis B virus infection. Frontiers in Immunology. 2020 Feb; 10: 3127. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.03127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2019.03127

Khanam A, Chua JV, Kottilil S. Immunopathology of chronic hepatitis B infection: role of innate and adaptive immune response in disease progression. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021 May; 22(11): 5497. doi: 10.3390/ijms22115497. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22115497

Akbar SM, Yoshida O, Hiasa Y. Immune therapies against chronic hepatitis B. Journal of Gastroenterology. 2022 Aug; 57(8): 517-28. doi: 10.1007/s00535-022-01890-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-022-01890-8

Kaur N, Goyal G, Garg R, Tapasvi C, Chawla S, Kaur R. Potential role of noninvasive biomarkers during liver fibrosis. World journal of Hepatology. 2021 Dec; 13(12): 1919. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v13.i12.1919. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4254/wjh.v13.i12.1919

Szternel Ł, Sobucki B, Wieprzycka L, Krintus M, Panteghini M. Golgi protein 73 in liver fibrosis. Clinica Chimica Acta. 2024 Oct: 119999. doi: 10.1016/j.cca.2024.119999. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2024.119999

Gao Y, Wang M, Liu XN. Noninvasive serum markers for predicting significant liver histopathology in HBeAg-negative chronic HBV-infected patients with normal alanine aminotransferase. Microbiology Spectrum. 2024 Apr; 12(4): e03941-23. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.03941-23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.03941-23

Zoulim F, Chen PJ, Dandri M, Kennedy PT, Seeger C. Hepatitis B Virus DNA integration: Implications for diagnostics, therapy, and outcome. Journal of Hepatology. 2024 Jul. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2024.06.037. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2024.06.037

Althubaiti A. Sample size determination: A practical guide for health researchers. Journal of General and Family Medicine. 2023 Mar; 24(2): 72-8. doi: 10.1002/jgf2.600. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jgf2.600

Campbell C, Wang T, McNaughton AL, Barnes E, Matthews PC. Risk factors for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. Journal of Viral Hepatitis. 2021 Mar; 28(3): 493-507. doi: 10.1111/jvh.13452. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jvh.13452

Bousali M, Papatheodoridis G, Paraskevis D, Karamitros T. Hepatitis B virus DNA integration, chronic infections and hepatocellular carcinoma. Microorganisms. 2021 Aug; 9(8): 1787. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9081787. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9081787

Li Y, Zhu Y, Gao D, Pan Y, Wang J, Zhang S et al. HBeAg-positive CHB patients with indeterminate phase associated with a high risk of significant fibrosis. Virology Journal. 2024 Nov; 21(1): 287. doi: 10.1186/s12985-024-02561-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12985-024-02561-1

Lee HA, Lee HW, Park Y, Kim HS, Seo YS. Hepatitis B core-related antigen is useful for predicting phase and prognosis of hepatitis B e antigen-positive patients. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2022 Mar; 11(6): 1729. doi: 10.3390/jcm11061729. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11061729

Wang N, Zheng J, Huang Y, Pu X, Jiang L, Yang J. A Predictive Model to Evaluate the HbeAg Positivity of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Patients in Clinics: A Cross-Sectional Study. Medicina. 2022 Sep; 58(9): 1279. doi: 10.3390/medicina58091279. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina58091279

Duan M, Chi X, Xiao H, Liu X, Zhuang H. High-normal alanine aminotransferase is an indicator for liver histopathology in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B. Hepatology International. 2021 Apr; 15: 318-27. doi: 10.1007/s12072-021-10153-2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12072-021-10153-2

Xu C, Zhao Y, Chen H, Ren W, Yang X, Zheng W et al. Risk factors for significant histological changes in both HBeAg-positive and negative treatment-naive chronic hepatitis B with persistently normal alanine aminotransferase level. BioMed Central Infectious Diseases. 2024 Oct; 24(1): 1120. doi: 10.1186/s12879-024-10015-w. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-024-10015-w

Yao K, Wang J, Wang L, Xia J, Yan X, Wu W et al. Association of anti‐HBc and liver inflammation in HBeAg‐negative chronic hepatitis B virus‐infected patients with normal ALT and detectable HBV DNA. Journal of Medical Virology. 2022 Feb; 94(2): 659-66. doi: 10.1002/jmv.27327. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.27327

Pan S, Yu Y, Wang S, Tu B, Shen Y, Qiu Q et al. Correlation of HBV DNA and hepatitis B surface antigen levels with tumor response, liver function and immunological indicators in liver cancer patients with HBV infection undergoing PD-1 inhibition combinational therapy. Frontiers in Immunology. 2022 May; 13: 892618. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.892618. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.892618

Zhang ZQ, Shi BS, Lu W, Liu DP, Huang D, Feng YL. Quantitative HBcrAg and HBcAb versus HBsAg and HBV DNA in predicting liver fibrosis levels of chronic hepatitis B patients. Gastroenterología y Hepatología (English Edition). 2020 Nov; 43(9): 526-36. doi: 10.1016/j.gastre.2020.03.005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gastre.2020.03.005

Gatselis NK, Tornai T, Shums Z, Zachou K, Saitis A, Gabeta S et al. Golgi protein-73: A biomarker for assessing cirrhosis and prognosis of liver disease patients. World Journal of Gastroenterology. 2020 Sep; 26(34): 5130. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v26.i34.5130. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v26.i34.5130

Li Y, Yang Y, Li Y, Zhang P, Ge G, Jin J et al. Use of GP73 in the diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and the staging of hepatic fibrosis. Journal of International Medical Research. 2021 Nov; 49(11): 03000605211055378. doi: 10.1177/03000605211055378. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/03000605211055378

Downloads

Published

2025-06-30
CITATION
DOI: 10.54393/pjhs.v6i6.2821
Published: 2025-06-30

How to Cite

Ramani, R. K., Ashraf, S., Phulpoto, A. H., Pervez, S. A., Memon, A. Q., & Aziz, A. (2025). GP73 Level in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B: Relationship with Liver Biopsy, Levels of ALT, AST and HBV DNA: GP73 Level with Chronic Hepatitis B: ALT, AST and HBV DNA. Pakistan Journal of Health Sciences, 6(6), 138–143. https://doi.org/10.54393/pjhs.v6i6.2821

Issue

Section

Original Article

Plaudit