Abstract

Liver samples from patients with three different types of liver diseases, alveolar echinococcosis (a dense and irreversible fibrosis), hepatocellular carcinoma and alcoholic cirrhosis, were analyzed for their content in hydroxypyridinium cross-links found in mature collagen. We demonstrated the presence of small amounts of pyridinoline in control livers (0.27 +/- 0.06 pmol/pmol of collagen). Pyridinoline content was increased in fibrotic livers, with the highest values found in patients with alveolar echinococcosis (up to 1.33 pmol/pmol of collagen). The deoxy analogue of pyridinoline was not detected in either normal or fibrotic livers. Pyridinoline levels, expressed as picomoles per picomole of collagen, were similar in all patients with carcinoma (0.7 +/- 0.05 pmol/pmol of collagen). They were heterogeneous in patients with alveolar echinococcosis and were particularly high in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis (1.04 +/- 0.11 pmol/pmol of collagen). These results demonstrate for the first time the presence of an hydroxypyridinium cross-link in liver fibrosis and suggest that pyridinoline measurement might be an important criterion in assessing the irreversibility of human liver fibrosis.