ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the association of Smad2/3,Smad4 and P-Smad3 protein expressions in tissue with liver fibrosis in patients with chronic HBV infections.Methods Liver biopsy was performed to determine the liver fibrosis grades in 131 cases of chronic HBV infections.Immunohistochemistry and semiquantitative analysis were applied to detect the expression of Smad2/3,Smad4 and P-Smad3 proteins in liver tissues.Results Smad2/3,Smad4 and P-Smad3 were detected mainly in fibrous septum,portal areas,myofibroblasts,sinus and cytoplasm in the liver tissue.The expression of Smad2/3,Smad4 and P-Smad3 was increased with the development of fibrosis ( r =0.81,0.58and 0.68,P =0.000),and a strong positive correlation was observed among three proteins (r =0.75,0.87and 0.84,P =0.000).Conclusion The expression of Smad2/3,Smad4 and P-Smad3 is correlated with liver fibrosis in chronic HBV infection,which suggests that the up-regulation of Smad proteins may be involved in the progression of liver fibrosis.