Progressive alcohol-related liver fibrosis is characterised by imbalanced collagen formation and degradation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Liver fibrosis accumulation is considered a turnover disease, with formation exceeding degradation, although this hypothesis has never been tested in humans.

Aims

To investigate extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling in a biopsy-controlled study of alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) patients.

Methods

We evaluated the relationship between formation and degradation of four collagens as a function of histological fibrosis, inflammation and steatosis in 281 patients with ALD and 50 matched healthy controls. Post hoc, we tested the findings in a cohort of patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis and assessed the collagens' prognostic accuracy. We assessed the fibrillar collagens type III (PRO-C3/C3M) and V (PRO-C5/C5M), the basement membrane collagen IV (PRO-C4/

SUBMITTER: Thiele M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9292476 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature