Myofibroblastic cell activation and neovascularization predict native liver survival and development of esophageal varices in biliary atresia

Table 1 Prevalence of centrizonal microvessels in biliary atresia patients (n = 32) at the time of portoenterostomy and in control (n = 35) livers

Number of patients	BA	Controls
Patients
Grade 1	0	14
Grade 2	5	21
Grade 3	9	0
Grade 4	18	0
	P < 0.0001

Data presented as number of patients. Comparison between groups was performed with Mann-Whitney U-test. Microvessel grades: 1: No central zones with microvessels; 2: < 5% of central zones with microvessels; 3: 5%-50% of central zones with microvessels; and 4: > 50% of central zones with microvessels. BA: Biliary atresia.

Table 2 Patient characteristics at the time of portoenterostomy

BA type	n(%)	Age at PE (d)	Bilirubin (μmol/L)	Conjugated bilirubin
II	3 (9.1)	102 (78-141)	186 (98-247)	162 (86-207)
III	26 (78.8)	64 (7-140)	172 (103-470)	117 (45-224)
IIIa	4 (12.1)	51 (37-81)	171 (103-201)	85 (69-109)
		P = 0.092	P = 0.838	P = 0.183

Data presented as median and range. Comparisons between groups were performed with Kruskal-Wallis test. BA: Biliary atresia; PE: Portoenterostomy.

Table 3 Hepatic expression of collagen 1, α-smooth muscle actin and CD34 in biliary atresia (n = 27) at the time of portoenterostomy and in control (n = 35) livers

	Clearance of jaundice		2-yr native liver survival		Esophageal varices		All BA patients	Controls
	Yes	No	NL	LT	Yes	No
Collagen 1	14.7 (4.9)	18.5 (5.4)	13.7 (3.5)	18.6 (5.4)	17.2 (4.9)	14.6 (5.0)	16.4 (5.4)	4.5 (2.2)
Area, % (SD)	P = 0.079		P = 0.024		P = 0.217		P < 0.0001
α-SMA	16.4 (5.1)	19.8 (4.8)	15.4 (4.9)	20.4 (4.2)	18.2 (4.3)	17.1 (6.1)	17.9 (5.2)	4.6 (1.9)
Area, % (SD)	P = 0.097		P = 0.009		P = 0.537		P < 0.0001
CD34	4.4 (1.4)	5.6 (2.4)	4.0 (0.9)	5.9 (2.4)	5.6 (2.0)	4.0 (1.6)	4.9 (2.0)	3.8 (1.0)
Area, %	P = 0.213		P = 0.029		P = 0.019		P = 0.017

Data presented as mean and SD. Comparisons between groups were performed with Mann-Whitney U-test. BA: Biliary atresia; PE: Portoenterostomy; NL: Native liver; LT: Liver transplant; α-SMA: α-smooth muscle actin.