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World J Hepatol. Aug 27, 2013; 5(8): 445-451
Published online Aug 27, 2013. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v5.i8.445
Published online Aug 27, 2013. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v5.i8.445
Serum complement C4a and its relation to liver fibrosis in children with chronic hepatitis C
Behairy E Behairy, Mostafa M Sira, Department of Pediatric Hepatology, National Liver Institute, Menofiya University, Shebin El-koom, Menofiya 32511, Egypt
Ghada M El-Mashad, Ragab S Abd-Elghany, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Menofiya University, Shebin El-koom, Menofiya 32511, Egypt
Enas M Ghoneim, Department of Microbiology, National Liver Institute, Menofiya University, Shebin El-koom, Menofiya 32511, Egypt
Author contributions: Behairy BE, El-Mashad GM, Abd-Elghany RS and Sira MM designed research, helped in diagnosis and patients recruitment, and shared in writing and revision of the manuscript; Abd-Elghany RS and Sira MM performed data collection; Sira MM performed statistical analysis; Ghoneim EM performed laboratory analysis, shared in writing and revision of the manuscript.
Supported by National Liver Institute, Menofiya University, Egypt
Correspondence to: Dr. Mostafa M Sira, Department of Pediatric Hepatology, National Liver Institute, Menofiya University, POBox 32511, Gamal Abdel Nasser St., 32511 Shebin El-koom, Menofiya, Egypt. msira@liver-eg.org
Telephone: +20-48-2222740 Fax: +20-48-2234586
Received: June 10, 2013
Revised: July 29, 2013
Accepted: August 4, 2013
Published online: August 27, 2013
Processing time: 101 Days and 17.2 Hours
Revised: July 29, 2013
Accepted: August 4, 2013
Published online: August 27, 2013
Processing time: 101 Days and 17.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Non-invasive prediction of liver fibrosis is a challenging issue especially in pediatric population. Complement C4a was found, by proteomic analysis, to be associated with liver fibrosis and therefore proposed as a candidate for fibrosis prediction. In adults, serum C4 was found to decrease in hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients with moderate fibrosis and cirrhosis compared to healthy controls. In addition, in advanced HCV-induced liver fibrosis, the net production of C4a was found to be down-regulated. Furthermore, it was found to correlate negatively with alanine transaminase and the histological activity index of the Knodell scoring system. The issue has never been investigated in children before.