BACKGROUND/AIMS:

It has been suggested that increases in serum hyaluronan levels might be a marker of fibrosis in chronic viral hepatitis C. Patients receiving alpha-interferon therapy are an excellent model to determine the relationship between serum hyaluronan and liver fibrosis, since results suggest that alpha-interferon could reduce liver fibrosis.

METHODS:

We studied the relationship between serum hyaluronan and histopathological indices of liver fibrosis, inflammation and necrosis, before and after alpha-interferon therapy (3 MU, three times weekly for 6 months), and the effect of treatment on serum hyaluronan and on histological liver fibrosis, in 52 patients. Hyaluronan levels were measured using a radiometric assay and the liver histopathological indices were scored according to the Knodell system.

RESULTS:

The serum hyaluronan level correlated with the extent of liver fibrosis both before and after alpha-interferon therapy (p < 0.0001), but not with the histopathological indices of liver inflammation or necrosis. Parallel changes in serum hyaluronan and liver fibrosis occurred: serum hyaluronan levels fell significantly in patients in whom fibrosis improved (p < 0.01, n = 11), increased significantly in patients in whom fibrosis worsened (p < 0.05, n = 10), and did not change significantly in patients in whom fibrosis was unmodified (n = 31). Furthermore, fibrosis improved only when the antiviral effect of alpha-interferon was reflected by persistent normalization of serum alanine aminotransferase, although there was no correlation between serum hyaluronan levels and alanine aminotransferase activities.

CONCLUSION:

Serum hyaluronan thus appears to be a non-invasive index of liver fibrosis.