Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. May 27, 2020; 12(5): 220-229
Published online May 27, 2020. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v12.i5.220
Usefulness of Mac-2 binding protein glycosylation isomer in non-invasive probing liver disease in the Vietnamese population
Thuy Thi Thu Pham, Dat Tan Ho, Toan Nguyen
Thuy Thi Thu Pham, Dat Tan Ho, Toan Nguyen, MEDIC Medical Center, Ho Chi Minh 72517, Vietnam
Author contributions: Pham TTT and Ho DT conceived the investigative study and recruited patients; Nguyen T performed all experimental runs; Pham TTT, Ho DT and Nguyen T analyzed the data and prepared the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The experimental procedure strictly follows the ethical codes of conduct as laid out by the Declaration of Helsinki. Institutional review board approval was waived as residual blood was used.
Informed consent statement: Our research follows strictly the Declaration of Helsinki for ethical compliance. Residual blood samples were used for biomarker evaluation and informed consent was waived. No patient identifiers were used and standard of care accorded to patients was not affected by the results of this study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Thuy Thi Thu Pham, PhD, Assistant Professor, Hepatologist, MEDIC Medical Center, 254 Hòa Hảo Street, District 10, Ho Chi Minh 72517, Vietnam. drthuthuy@gmail.com
Received: January 1, 2020
Peer-review started: January 1, 2020
First decision: February 19, 2020
Revised: March 30, 2020
Accepted: April 7, 2020
Article in press: April 7, 2020
Published online: May 27, 2020
Processing time: 147 Days and 9.6 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Non-invasive and rapid testing of liver disease for chronic hepatitis patients is crucial given its high prevalence in Vietnam.

Research motivation

Liver disease can be managed properly with timely treatment and control. Mac-2 binding protein glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi) offers the capability to stage fibrosis severity quickly and assess treatment response with longitudinal measurements.

Research objectives

This study aims to compare M2BPGi, a blood-based biomarker with existing methods of non-invasive testing and elastography in chronic hepatitis. In a preliminary assessment of treatment response, hepatitis B DNA concentrations were correlated with M2BPGi levels in respective patients.

Research methods

In patients with liver disease of different etiologies, M2BPGi levels in residual blood samples were measured. Comparisons with transient elastography (TE) were made to establish preliminary clinical cut-offs. Pearson correlations were tested using different liver disease markers to establish any significant trends. M2BPGi levels in early disease patients were compared to show etiology specificity.

Research results

We established clear correlations between M2BPGi with TE and other non-invasive biomarkers. For fibrosis staging of both hepatitis B and C patients, we observed statistically significant correlations with M2BPGi. M2BPGi levels in early disease were higher in viral hepatitis patients indicating the need to establish different cut-offs. The results were also significantly correlated with hepatitis B viral load, which established the possibility of treatment assessment.

Research conclusions

M2BPGi level is a useful addition to the current routine assessment of chronic hepatitis patients. This is performed by a routine immunoassay that enables fast turnaround time and quicker reporting for patients.

Research perspectives

We envision this research to have clinical potential to improve treatment monitoring procedures and rapid assessment of liver disease. In a resource limited setting, this marker presents useful results to ensure patients are linked to care promptly.