Expression of adiponectin and adiponectin receptor 2 in the livers of patients with hepatitis B virus-related liver failure / 中华传染病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the expressions of adiponectin and adiponectin receptor 2 (AdipoR2) in the liver of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver failure and their clinical implications in the pathogenesis of liver failure.Methods The healthy controls (HC),patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and patients with HBV-related liver failure (HBV-LF) were enrolled in the study.Each group had 20 participants.The liver tissues from 11 CHB patients who were diagnosed by liver biopsy,6 patients with HBV-LF and 6 liver donors during liver transplantation were collected.Histological specimens were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and Masson trichrome staining under microscope.The mRNA and protein expressions of adiponectin and AdipoR2 in the liver were measured by semi-quantitative reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (SqRT-PCR) and immunohistochemical staining,respectively.The level of serum adiponectin was detected by enzymelinked immunsorbent assay.Serum biochemical parameters and HBV DNA levels were also measured.The pairwise comparison between groups was done by Student-Newman-Keuls and mann whitney U test.The relationship between two variables was analyzed using Spearman correlation.Results The level of serum adiponectin in HBV-LF group [(0.86 ± 0.15) ng/mL] was higher than those in HC [(0.59±0.15) ng/mL] and CHB groups [(0.62±0.13) ng/mL,Z=3.963,Z=3.774,both P＜0.01)],but showing no difference between CHB and HC groups (P＞0.05).The expressions of adiponectin and AdipoR2 mRNA in the liver were significantly higher in HBV-LF group (0.251 ±0.028 and 0.223 ± 0.021,respectively) than those in HC (0.091 ± 0.018 and 0.072 ± 0.020,respectively) and CHB (0.121±0.019 and 0.097±0.017,respectively) groups (q=18.428,17.069,19.807,18.673,respectively; all P＜0.01).Also,the expressions of adiponectin and AdipoR2 mRNA in CHB group were significantly higher than those in HC group (q=3.895,3.860,both P＜0.05).The expressions of adiponectin and AdipoR2 proteins in the liver were significantly higher in HBV-LF group (8.482±0.772 and 7.654±0.272,respectively) than those in HC (4.045± 0.815 and 2.804±0.623,respectively) and CHB (5.545±0.613 and 4.775±0.458,respectively) groups (q=15.327,11.542; Z=2.802,3.266; respectively; all P＜0.01).Also,the expressions of adiponectin,AdipoR2 proteins in CHB group were significantly higher than those in HC group (q=5.894,Z=3.266,both P＜0.01).In HBV-LF group,serum adiponectin levels as well as the expressions of adiponectin mRNA and protein in the liver were negatively correlated with serum albumin (r=-0.815,-0.886,-0.943; P＜0.01 or P＜0.05),but positively correlated with serum alanine aminotransferase (r=0.701,0.886,0.943; P＜0.01 or P＜0.05).The expression of AdipoR2 mRNA in the liver was negatively correlated with serum albumin (r=-0.943,P＜0.01),but positively correlated with serum aspartate aminotransferase (r=0.829,P＜0.05).Conclusions The expressions of adiponectin and AdipoR2 are up-regulated during HBV infection,especially in patients with HBV-LF,which might reflect the degree of necroinflammation in the liver.